FORMER HEAD JAILED FOR NINE MONTHS
A FORMER primary school headteacher kicked and punched his wife who had stood by him throughout a crown court trial for sexually assaulting another woman.
Kevin Thomas, who used to work at Glan-yr-Afon Primary School in Cardiff, left his wife Donna Thomas covered in bruises after kicking her back and punching her in the face.
Sentencing him at Cardiff Crown Court , Judge Philip HarrisJenkins said the last pre-sentence report referred to his “fall from grace”.
He told the defendant: “Where you now find yourself is lower again.”
The court heard the assault happened at their home on the evening of November 24 last year after they went out to try to reconcile problems in their relationship.
Nuhu Gobir, prosecuting, said the couple had been married for seven years, but had been having “difficulties” in the relationship for about two years.
He said Thomas had been sending messages to other women and asking for sexual photographs, but Mrs Thomas “stuck by” her husband throughout his trial.
Mr Gobir said the ex-headteacher accused his wife of cheating on him and crushed her mobile phone in his hands after they got a taxi back to their home in Cardiff.
He added: “The defendant punched the victim in the face and kicked her to her back.”
The court heard she was left with a lump over her eye as well as a bleeding nose and bruising over her face.
In a personal statement read out in court Mrs Thomas said: “I feel disappointed as I have supported this man through a lot.
“I feel like he must have thought very little of me because of the way he has treated me.”
When he was interviewed by the police, Thomas accepted there was “pushing and shoving” and said it was not a one-sided incident.
The 47-year-old, from Mount Crescent in Penllergaer, Swansea, denied assault by beating but was found guilty following a trial at Cardiff Magistrates’ Court.
In the previous case he had denied sexual assault, but was found guilty by a jury following a trial and given a 24-month community order with activity and unpaid work requirements.
Meirion Davies, defending, pointed out the original offence happened four years ago and said his client had no previous convictions for violence.
He said the trial put the couple under great strain and they were currently going through divorce proceedings.
The court heard Thomas no longer works in education and now lives in Swansea earning a living as a salesman.
In his sentencing remarks Judge Harris-Jenkins said: “This was a nasty assault.
“This is a case where you acted dismally.
“You were given a clear opportunity by the court to mend your ways but you breached the court order by beating your wife.”
Thomas was jailed for nine months and a five-year restraining order was imposed.