A violent control freak who threw a remote control at his partner's pregnant stomach then attacked her on the night she gave birth to their baby has been jailed.
Bully Bradley Cooper regularly flew into violent rages, tried to control what the woman wore and left her living in fear, a court heard.
The former DWP worker, who lost his job when his domestic abuse was reported to his employer, pleaded guilty to controlling or coercive behaviour and has now been jailed by a judge at Newcastle Crown Court.
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Jane Waugh, prosecuting, said: "The defendant and complainant were in a three-and-a-half year relationship which ended in November 2021 because of his behaviour towards her. She describes assaults from the defendant as regular, involving punching, kicking and hitting almost on a monthly basis.
"Around March 2017 they began a relationship and a few months into it he first became abusive and threw a shoe at her head and snapped a choker chain from her neck and said she was not allowed to wear it because people would think she was a s**g."
In December 2018 she found out she was pregnant and they moved into their own home. Miss Waugh said: "The abuse got worse. The defendant would kick and punch her in the legs and arms and she said he bit and headbutted her on one occasion, although that is not admitted in his basis of plea.
"He also threw a gaming controller at her pregnant stomach."
In the summer of 2018, she told him she had taken pictures of her injuries and said if he hit her again she would go to the police. Miss Waugh said: "He kicked her in the legs, leaving her badly bruised.
"He would take her phone from her after beating her and would not give it back until the bruising went down. He would let her use it when he was present. He would buy her flowers and gifts to apologise.
"If he didn't like how she dressed she would have to dress in something else. She rarely went out with friends and if she confronted him about anything sometimes he would become violent.
"On one occasion he punched a hole in the bathroom wall because she asked him to come off his Xbox to bath their son while she made tea."
In 2019, the woman went into labour and after giving birth and returning home from hospital in a taxi, he assaulted her again, punching her and then kicking her on the floor, causing bruises to her legs. He only stopped when she started crying.
He didn't assault her for four months after that but then went back to being violent, although not as regularly. The woman eventually confided in a professional and was advised to go to the police, which she did.
In a victim impact statement, she said Cooper's behaviour left her "emotionally destroyed", adding: "During the relationship I found my personality changed. I have depression which I believe was caused by his behaviour.
"I was anxious when my friends visited when he was there because they had seen my injuries and I had told them about him assaulting me. He would criticise me about the clothing I wore if it was in any way revealing, such as a low-cut top and I wore more conservative clothing because I feared it would lead to me assaulting him."
Cooper, 28, of The Sycamores, Guidepost, Northumberland, who has previous convictions for domestic-related criminal damage offences, pleaded guilty to controlling or coercive behaviour and was jailed for two years and four months.
Judge Robert Spragg told him: "Your behaviour was that of a violent and controlling bully. This offence violated the trust that should exist between partners in a relationship.
"Instead of feeling safe with you she was in a constant state of fear, wondering when the next assault would take place and what you would prevent her from doing next. It's had a significant effect on her and she is to be praised for having the courage to get away from you."
The court heard he pleaded guilty on a basis of plea, which included that he accepted snapping her necklace, grabbing, punching and hitting her her legs and arms and punching a hole in the wall.
Shaun Routledge, defending, said Cooper's criminal behaviour was "occasional rather than persistent". He added that he had lost his job at the DWP after someone informed his employer about the court case but he went to college to do a qualification in railway track maintenance.
Mr Routledge said Cooper is now in a new relationship and there have been no issues and his new partner was in court to support him. He added that he has stopped taking drugs, which had contributed to his offending.
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