A jealous bully subjected a woman to a campaign of alcohol-fuelled abuse.
Michal Swierczynski slapped his then-girlfriend, spat in her face and threatened to stab her in the eye at various points during their relationship. On one occasion, despite knowing she may be pregnant, he pulled her off a couch and punched her in the stomach.
Liverpool Crown Court heard the woman, who the ECHO has chosen not to name, was so terrified she told police she thought he may kill her.
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Arthur Gibson, prosecuting, said she started going out with the 28 year old early last year but, while his behaviour was initially normal, it soon deteriorated - particularly after he drank. On one night, the woman had taken Swierczynski out with her friends to the Lisbon pub in Liverpool city centre but his homophobic behaviour caused them to be kicked out.
Having drunk heavily, he then went home with the woman. After she refused to have sex with him, he slapped her across the face and left her with a split lip.
A separate incident saw him slam her head into his car’s gear stick shortly after she got into the vehicle, realised he was drunk and then tried to get out. Months later, he went round to her house and when she wouldn’t let him in he threatened to use a fork to stab her in the eye.
Towards the end of their relationship, amidst increasing concern from police officers, Swierczynski lured the woman to his flat and asked her to spend time with him but then launched an attack that saw her punched in the stomach even while he believed she may have been expecting a child.
Mr Gibson said Swierczynski would lurch erratically between normal and bullying behaviour, often fuelled by large amounts of alcohol and extreme jealousy over things the woman wore, what she said or where she went. He said: “That was very much the pattern of their relationship. One minute he would be violent and abusive, the next minute contrite and loving.”
Swierczynski was eventually charged earlier this year with coercive and controlling behaviour and multiple counts of assault. He eventually pleaded guilty to three counts of assault as well as the coercive and controlling behaviour charge.
Charles Lander, defending, said Swierczysnki had initially made comments to probation officers appearing to minimise his role in the abuse but had now accepted his responsibility. He said: “The most sensible thing he did was plead guilty.”
Mr Lander added that Swierczynski, a Polish national who required an interpreter during yesterday’s hearing, was having difficulty communicating with others in prison and said this would likely make his time behind bars more difficult.
Judge Robert Trevor-Jones said Swierczynski had become ever more controlling over the woman as time went on. He said: “What this relationship really developed into was you developing a very domineering attitude towards her. You were clearly jealous of her from time to time. When you took drink, which seemed to be a very regular occurrence as far as you are concerned - you have or had a very serious alcohol problem, it turned into a dynamic which was aggressive and then became violent again and again.”
Swierczynski, of Stonedale Crescent in Croxteth, was jailed for two years and nine months.
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