Jail for Thatcham man Joshua Rampton, who left faeces on ex-girlfriend’s carpet

A MAN who left faeces on his ex-girlfriend’s carpet, choked her and then locked her up, has been jailed.

The judge said it was an unusual case because the violence had been filmed on a mobile phone, capturing the attacker’s blind, jealous rage.

In the dock at Reading Crown Court on Monday, March 17, was Joshua Rampton.

Mark Warburton, prosecuting, said 30-year-old Rampton, who was living at Masefield Road, Thatcham, had been in a relationship with victim Bethany Pease for around six years when she ended it and began seeing someone new.

He added: “His response to her breaking up with him was to leave faeces on the carpet.”

On another occasion he turned up at her home, causing damage and shouting: “I’m going to hurt you – I hate you; I don’t want you to exist.”

The mobile phone footage which captured what happened next was screened in court.

As Ms Pease pleads “get off me”, Rampton screams abuse and threats directly into her face.

Mr Warburton went on: “He pushed her on to the bed and told her how much he hated her.

“He slapped her face; he strangled her – she couldn’t breathe and the fear could be heard in her voice.”

Rampton then grabbed her flat keys and left, locking the door from the outside and imprisoning Ms Pease.

When he returned later, he released her but refused to give her keys back.

When arrested, Rampton declined to answer questions, the court heard.

Rampton admitted unlawful imprisonment, intentional strangulation, assault by beating and causing criminal damage, all on Saturday, January 4, this year.

He also has previous convictions including assault causing actual bodily harm and drink-driving, the court heard.

In the actual bodily harm case, the victim was the same – Bethany Pease.

In a victim impact statement read to the court Ms Pease described the emotional toll the relentless abuse had taken.

She said she was left feeling worthless after being told no one else would ever love her and that “the emotional scars might never heal”.

The statement added: “The bruises will heal but the anxiety will remain.

“But today I can say I’m more than just a victim: I’m a survivor.”

Tabitha Everett, defending, said the strangulation and false imprisonment had been “fleeting”.

She added: “The pre-sentence report notes that he engages well and doesn’t attempt to evade responsibility.

“He has been diagnosed with anxiety and depression.”

These conditions would make custody difficult for Rampton, went on Ms Everett, who suggested any prison sentence could be suspended.

Judge Alan Blake said he would “need to hear substantial mitigation” to be persuaded that immediate imprisonment was unjust.

After hearing mitigation, he told Rampton: “Usually the court does not have the advantage of a recording of such domestic incidents as this.

“That video is indeed distressing and disturbing.”

He added: “Strangulation is a very serious offence.

“It’s terrifying for anyone who suffers it, to feel unable to breathe.

“It’s an act which establishes utter control over someone and features in the history of cases where people go on to perpetrate really serious – even fatal – attacks on women.”

Judge Blake jailed Rampton for 16 months, minus the 70 days he has spent in custody on remand, up to half of which he will serve locked up and the remainder on licence in the community.

In addition, Rampton was made subject to a seven-year restraining order preventing him from contacting Ms Pease either directly or indirectly, or from going to Bucklebury.