Rejected Portsmouth husband who previously bit off chunks of two men's ears jailed for sinking teeth into nose of ex-wife
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Biting menace Paul Way, 45, resorted to using his teeth as a weapon again as he lunged at his former wife with his jaws and clamped down on her nose for up to 10 seconds, leaving her in ‘agony’. The woman’s nose was left gushing blood following the bite attack before she had a panic attack and called 999, Portsmouth Crown Court heard. Pictures of the injury, shown to the court, revealed her gruesome injury where her skin had been broken, leaving her with a scar.
Drunk Way, of Sunningdale Road, Baffins, lashed out after his efforts to seduce his former love were rejected. The defendant, who has previously been convicted of grievous bodily harm (GBH) on two separate occasions for biting chunks out of victims’ ears during fights, had been drinking with the woman for much of the day on January 29 last year when things soured.
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Prosecutor Holly Fagen said: ‘He put his arms around her and tried to kiss her before she pushed him away and told him to get out. He then picked up her phone and threw it against a wall.
‘He grabbed her face and lunged at her and bit her on the nose. He bit down for five to 10 seconds. (The victim said) it felt like he used his full force. It felt like he bit her nose off. She was in agony and had a panic attack and phoned 999.’
The victim said was now ‘anxious’ and suffered ‘nightmares’ following the attack. ‘I’ve lost confidence in myself as I have a scar on my nose,’ she said, before adding: ‘I left Paul after 16 years of violence. I’m scared what he is capable of.’
Way’s previous history of violence was read out to the court, showing he was convicted of GBH in 2009 and 1998. ‘He bit part of a man’s ear off,’ Ms Fagen said of the incidents - the second of which took place in a nightclub. ‘He has a history of using his teeth as a weapon,’ she added.
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Hide AdSpeaking of his latest offence - for which he admitted a charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm - the prosecutor said: ‘Five to 10 seconds is a long time to have teeth clamp down on your nose.’
Daniel Reilly, defending, said Way was ‘genuinely remorseful and devastated’. The defendant was also said to be ‘tearful’ when discussing what happened with probation.
But judge William Ashworth, pointing out how Way had initially denied the offence, said: ‘In my view you do not demonstrate remorse and you have no meaningful prospect of rehabilitation.’
The judge said the defendant had used his ‘teeth as a weapon’ leading to the woman fearing ‘part of her nose had been removed’ and rejected Way’s bizarre claims it was ‘out of character’. Judge Ashworth added: ‘There may be no recent convictions of biting but you have removed part of the ears of two men which shows a pattern of specific behaviour.’
Way was jailed for 10 months and handed a five-year restraining order.