SWINDON DOMESTIC ABUSER JAILED FOR COERCIVE CONTROL AND VIOLENCE
A dangerous and abusive Swindon man has been sentenced to jail after coercively controlling, attacking, and threatening to kill his former partner.During the sentencing at Swindon Crown Court, the victim described how she cannot be alone or go out alone because she re-experiences three days of 'being tortured' in March 2023, and has been unable to start a new relationship since then.
Claudio Stroud, aged 23 and residing on Tennyson Street, was found guilty of multiple offences, including two counts of causing actual bodily harm, threatening with an offensive weapon in a private place, assaulting an emergency worker, making threats to kill, and engaging in coercive or controlling behaviour.
Prosecutor Annabel Hazlitt outlined how Stroud used fear and violence to dominate his victim over several months by isolating her from friends, making derogatory comments, demanding constant whereabouts information, physically assaulting her, and threatening both her and her family.
The court noted that Stroud’s pattern of abusive behaviour was similar to previous domestic offences, which led to his conviction and imprisonment in 2022, but he continued to offend despite being on license.
Before the current offences, he carried out a prolonged assault on his victim after seeing old messages on her phone, which included dragging her by the hair, hitting her, throwing her laptop away, stamping on her, and pressing a kitchen knife to her neck while threatening to kill her.
Two days later, he broke a butter knife during another assault.
The victim managed to contact a friend who called the police, during which Stroud broke a police officer’s finger and injured another officer’s wrist.
During the trial, Stroud’s defense argued that his conduct was due to trauma and mental health issues, with claims of excessive self-defense against police.
However, the judge condemned his warped view of control and declared that his offending was rooted in a deeply distorted view of relationships.
Stroud was sentenced to four years and six months in prison for the domestic violence offences and an additional three months for attacking emergency workers.
He will serve an extended license period of two years and is subject to a 10-year restraining order against his victim.
