A CARDIFF bodybuilder who subjected his partner to a sustained campaign of violence and controlling behaviour has been jailed for six-and-a-half years.
Andrew Caswell, 44, assaulted the woman repeatedly during their relationship, leaving her with broken bones and other injuries which required hospital treatment.
Cardiff Crown Court heard that Caswell, of Caer Castell Place, Rumney, became increasingly suspicious and paranoid about his partner being involved with other men.
The couple had met during a night out in Plymouth in 2023 and later became engaged, with the woman moving to Cardiff to live with him.
But the relationship descended into a pattern of physical and emotional abuse.
During one confrontation, Caswell pushed the woman down eight steps, causing fractures to her left hand and wrist.
On other occasions he slapped and punched her, damaged her mobile phone and threw a vape at her with such force that the resulting injury required surgery under general anaesthetic.
The court also heard of an incident in which Caswell punched the woman, split her lip and forced her face against the floor before throwing her out of the property.
She was left with nowhere to stay and spent a night sleeping in a children’s playground in Rumney, sheltering beneath a sheet of metal, before eventually making contact with a women’s refuge.
In a victim personal statement, the woman described continuing to suffer flashbacks as a result of what she had endured and said the abuse had fundamentally changed her outlook on life.
Caswell admitted controlling or coercive behaviour and criminal damage.
He was also convicted of causing grievous bodily harm without intent and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
Sentencing him at Cardiff Crown Court, Judge Eugene Egan said Caswell had bullied and terrorised his victim and treated her as a “punchbag”.
The judge told him that by October 2025 he had “battered her into submission”, adding that Caswell had repeatedly proved himself to be a menace to her.
Caswell was sentenced to a total of six years and six months in prison.
He will also be subject to an additional one-year extended licence period following his release.
A restraining order banning him from contacting the victim was imposed for 15 years.
Picture: South Wales Police
