British Woman ‘Dehumanized’ Partner, Prohibited Him from Using Toilet

A domineering girlfriend subjected her lover to a campaign of belittlement and humiliation over his weight, hair, SE drive, and breath.

Student nurse Sarah Rigby, 41, forced NHS project manager Gareth Jones to eat salad, wear a hat, and swallow toothpaste and mouthwash, believing he was fat, bald and had terrible breath.

During their abusive six-month relationship, Rigby – who has six children from other partners – taunted 40-year-old Mr Jones over his social performance and dismissed him as “the money source.”

She was quoted as saying: “If I’m not pregnant this month, I am going to find someone else to have SE with and get pregnant. I need to get pregnant this month. If I don’t, I’ll dump you.”

In other instances, Mr Jones, who moved in with Rigby, was thrown out of her house in Winsford, Cheshire, dressed only in his underwear, refused his door key and was not allowed alone on the property whenever she went out.

Mr Jones had to give his mother a duress code (Picture: Cavendish Press)

She wouldn’t let Mr Jones use the toilet in her home either – only at the pub or library.

The victim would be “frisked” by Rigby before leaving the house and was condemned to pound the streets or do his job from their local library, pub, or supermarket cafe until she came home.

Mr Jones was also forced to forfeit his £4,000-a-month wag and allow her to check his phone on demand. He even resorted to giving his mother a “duress code” to indicate when it was safe for them to speak without Rigby listening in.

In one row, he was hit in the face by a glass candle holder, leaving him with a scar across his nose.

When Rigby’s children became the subject of family court proceedings involving her ex-partner, she made Mr Jones pay for a £3,000 expert report and file a false witness statement supporting her plea to get custody.

During one tirade, Rigby said to him, “I may not control social services, but I can control you, and I love it.”

At Chester Crown Court, Mr Jones told how he was driven to the brink of suicide by the abuse as Rigby, who admitted coercive behaviour, was given 20 months in jail, suspended for two years and banned from contacting the victim for five years under the terms of a restraining order.

He said he was now so haunted by his experiences he kept minimal possessions and would have a “grab bag” with him containing a toothbrush, washing products, and a towel at all times.

He also accused Rigby of showing “contempt” for him by turning up to court appearances flaunting a £400 Marc Jacobs shoulder bag he was ordered to buy her.

Mr Jones told the hearing: “After the abuse started, the effect of being constantly belittled and abused made me nervous, feel degraded, and worthless. My image of myself became distorted, and I had low self-esteem – I still feel like this to a degree.

“When she used to say things like I had halitosis and forced me to drink half a bottle of Listerine or eat toothpaste, I started to believe that I had things wrong with me.

“I was forced to wear a hat every time we went out together because she didn’t want to be seen with someone who was receding and kept on that she wanted me to have a hair transplant. I also felt degraded, as Sarah used to try and intimidate me and ridicule my manhood regularly.

“I had regular bruising on my body from when Sarah used to kick, bite, scratch or claw me. I was nervous to consult my GP for fear she would find out and beat me further. As Sarah would not allow me to eat – I was called a ‘fat, smelly slob’ – I became paranoid about food.

“If she kicked me out and I could stay with my parents, I would be afraid to eat with them if she summoned me back, and I could smell food on my breath. She regularly kicked me out, making sure I had no belongings with me and as a result, I started hiding a toothbrush, shower gel, and a small towel in my work briefcase.”

Mr. Jones also said his relationships with friends and family became strained as Rigby isolated him from everyone.

He added: “After leaving, I became highly stressed. I was petrified that she would take reprisals and arrange for someone to come to my parents’ house to damage property, or even she would arrange to have me beaten up or worse.

Rigby’s abuse pushed Mr Jones to near suicide (Picture: Cavendish Press)

“I no longer feel open to having a relationship as I’m still afraid that I’ll be abused again. I do not feel I can trust another woman at present. I become scared when I am out in public and see someone with the same hairstyle and ccolouroasasSarah’s. I also feel nervous about telling people what has happened to me due to the stigma behind males not being seen as victims of domestic abuse.”

The court heard the couple met in the summer of 2021 through the Plenty of Fish dating website.

Mr Jones contacted the police in early March 2022 when he went to work out of the house. Police later urged Rigby to return the victim’s possessions, including his work computer and sentimental items, but she repeatedly denied she had anything to return.

In an interview, she falsely claimed Jones had been violent, coercive, controlling, and manipulative towards her.

In mitigation, defence counsel Miss Jade Tufail said Rigby had been diagnosed with PTSD due to an undisclosed “trauma” she suffered in her childhood.

But the judge, Mr Recorder Eric Lamb, told Rigby: “Your conduct has led to a substantial detrimental effect upon Mr Jones, who even today when speaking of the impact of the relationship upon him, was close to tears and in great distress when speaking on where the relationship had left him.”