Businessman jailed for attacks on ex-partner
A BUSINESSMAN who subjected his ex to “gaslighting” and “inexcusable” and “deliberate” attacks has been jailed.
Robert Aston targeted his former girlfriend in a way that could be described as “gaslighting”, Cardiff Magistrates’ Court heard.
The violence meted out by the 36-year-old, from Pontcanna in Cardiff, to his ex included slamming a door on her foot, leaving her bruised, in “a deliberate act intended to cause fear”.
Aston, of Severn Grove, had denied a total of five counts of assault – including three against a second victim who cannot be named for legal reasons – but was found guilty.
The court heard a statement from his ex, who described his behaviour as “unbelievable and inexcusable”.
She said: “The emotional pain was far greater than anything he could do to me physically. The last three months of the relationship were the worst.
“It became regular for him to insult me, projecting his faults on to me, saying I was insane.
“It caused a lot of self-doubt and created a cognitive dissonance I had to live with.
“Nothing I could say or do would make him rethink his opinions, no matter how much I tried. I struggled to sleep.
“As time went on I was always on high alert for his mood, things that could trigger his volatility and anger.”
The woman realised she was “walking on eggshells” and that Aston would often “just switch and act like nothing happened” after his outbursts.
She said Aston called her a “disgusting, vile woman”. On one occasion he soaked her with bathwater in an act which stripped her of dignity, she added.
“When he felt he had been undermined, he would say, ‘I know lawyers, I know barristers, I will have my way’. I felt lost.
“I have so much self-doubt, insecurity and fear that I am still working through.
“The relationship became draining and exhausting on a daily basis. In the end, in a choice no-one should ever have to make, I chose safety over love. I obsessively check the locks of my home. It is a lasting impact of my fear which will never really go away.”
When the district judge asked Aston about his company’s finances, the defendant said he had not yet filed accounts or taken dividends for the year.
He said the business did not make a profit of more than £50,000 the previous year.
Aston has a mortgage of £230,000 with payments of around £1,000 a month, the court heard.
He said he owned a Mercedes from this year, prompting Judge Harmes to say he had “plenty of money”.
The defendant denied this was the case, but the judge replied: “Tell me this, then – how did you buy a £50,000 car?”
Aston told the judge he bought it “when I had money” and it had been “very heavily discounted at the time”. He claimed he paid around £36,000.
Turning to Aston’s lawyer, Judge Harmes said: “He’s got enough money to pay some compensation.”
Ms Lingley, mitigating, said her client “wants to change” and “doesn’t want to ever behave in that way again”.
She added: “This occurred at the end of what was a very happy relationship for some time. They were together six years and it only started to go wrong around lockdown.
“Mr Aston’s parents-in-law had moved in in very cramped conditions, his business was at risk, he developed mental health problems and started drinking too much. The relationship was falling apart.”
Ms Lingley said her client could be unable to pay his mortgage if he goes to prison, but the judge said: “You’re really telling me he’ll lose his home?”
The lawyer replied that Aston was “very concerned about that” and as the sole director of his business it could fail “if he is not there” to run it. She said a prison term would cause a “huge lasting impact”.
Ms Lingley added her client had “taken hugely on board” the findings of his trial and he had arranged “intensive” courses which would “help ensure he is never a risk to any individual again”. She argued these would be “best done in the community” rather than in prison.
But handing down an immediate 12-week jail term, Judge Harmes said the type of behaviour exhibited by Aston “has sometimes been described as gaslighting”.
He acknowledged the prison sentence would cause harm but found it was necessary, adding: “I make the prison sentence as short as I can to give your business and mortgage the best chance to survive. I could have easily given a lot more. I have given the minimum.”
The judge said Aston would serve six weeks of the sentence in jail and the remainder under supervision in the community.
He must pay £1,500 in compensation, £620 in prosecution costs and a £128 victim surcharge.