A Co Antrim man allegedly subjected his ex-partner to sexual assaults while strangling her until she lost consciousness, the High Court heard today.
The 29-year-old defendant, who cannot be named, is also accused of chewing through cables as part of a campaign of abuse at the home they shared.
Prosecutors claimed during one incident he put his hands round the woman’s throat and asked her: “Do you like that, because I love it.”
Details emerged as he was granted bail under strict conditions imposed to prevent any contact with the complainant.
The defendant is charged with two sexual assaults, non-fatal strangulation in connection with a number of incidents at a house in Ballycastle during April this year.
He faces further counts of common assault, domestic abuse and criminal damage to property as part of the same case.
The woman contacted police on April 25, claiming she had suffered and been controlled at the hands of her ex-partner, the court heard.
His alleged emotional abuse involved turning off and removing bedroom lights, as well as standing at the switches to prevent them being turned back on.
According to her account he refused to give back her phone charger during one incident, chewing through the device and spitting it out onto the floor.
He also tried to chew through a bedside lamp cable before ripping it out of the wall and tripping fuses in the house.
At one point when she left the room he put wooden boarding across the door to stop her getting back in, the court heard.
Police were also told that the defendant had carried out sexual acts on her while she slept.
It was alleged that on one occasion she woke in the bedroom to discover him using his fingers to assault her.
“The complainant stated that he had placed his hand on her throat, which caused her to go in and out of consciousness,” Crown counsel disclosed.
“He said ‘Do you like that, because I love it’, referring to his hands being around her throat.”
The woman claimed he panicked each time she blacked out, tapping her on the face to bring her round again.
He also used an XBox games controller as part of the assault which left her bleeding from her injuries, it was alleged.
During police interviews the accused admitted he may have unintentionally damaged the lamp but denied all other offences.
He told police he has low testosterone and sexual performance issues due to an addiction to cocaine.
“He stated that during their relationship he had little or no sex drive, and that the complainant instigated all sexual activity between them,” the prosecutor added.
The defendant insisted that he had never choked or put his hands on her throat.
Defence counsel argued that he has now served six months in custody on remand.
Granting bail to the accused, Mr Justice Fowler ordered him to live under curfew at an approved address well away from the scene of the alleged offences.
“My concerns are there are a number of fed flags in this, so any conditions will have to be extremely stringent,” the judge stressed.
“He is not to approach… or be in any way engaged with the complainant (and must) report to police three times per week.”