A MAN who repeatedly punched, throttled and kicked his former partner in what was described as “one of the worst cases of enduring domestic violence” Jersey’s courts had ever seen has been given community service.
Terence Michael Tremarco (61) was sentenced for nine counts of grave and criminal assault and one of assault which took place more than 20 years ago.
The repeated attacks, which often happened after his wife came back from a night out, included several instances of non-fatal strangulation. She was left with permanent scars on her face.
Crown Advocate Luke Sette, prosecuting, told the Royal Court how over a period of six years, Tremarco subjected his wife to regular attacks, during which he punched her in the face, kicked her, dragged her by the hair and throttled her.
Crown Advocate Sette said their relationship was initially a “happy one” but shortly after their wedding in 1994, “the defendant changed and he begun assaulting the victim”.
The first attack occurred a few weeks after the couple got married, with Tremarco becoming angry when he found her sleeping on the sofa after a night out, punching and kicking her until she was on the floor.
The court heard not only the physical details of the assaults, but also how scared the victim was of her husband – describing how she was “too nervous to stay out” if he did not want her to go.
And when Tremarco encouraged her to go out with her friends, he assaulted her on her return to their home.
The court heard that on one occasion, when Tremarco was strangling the victim in bed, she recalled thinking: “Oh my God, he’s killing me, I’m going to die here.”
During the ninth of the ten attacks, he banged her head against a wall until the landlord asked about the noise.
He would also scream at her and verbally abuse her, calling her obscene names.
The tenth assault was the most serious, the court heard.
Tremarco encouraged the victim to join some of her friends for drinks, but when she got home, he asked her: “Where the f**k have you been?”
He was described as having “absolutely lost it” and screamed at her to “die, f**king die” while he dragged her by her hair, pushed her and punched her.
The victim recalled being punched until she fell to the floor, eventually finding herself on the ground outside the flat.
After this assault, Advocate Sette said Tremarco left the Island for the UK in 2000 and did not return until 2007.
Upon hearing of Tremarco’s return, the victim was “frightened” of meeting him and made a police report.
A forensic medical examiner saw her and found a number of scars on her face, up to 17mm long, which the victim said were the result of the assaults.
However, Tremarco left the Island again and the case was not pursued at that time.
Tremarco returned again in 2023 and his former wife made another report to the police. He was then interviewed for the first time and admitted all of the assaults.
Advocate Sette said: “This is one of the worst cases of enduring domestic violence to have appeared before the courts.”
He asked for Tremarco to receive a five-year jail sentence.
Advocate Herold-Howes, defending, said that Tremarco’s guilty plea carried even more weight because the offending had happened so long ago.
“He could have put [the victim] through that trial. He could have challenged her on every count where there was no evidence.
“It would have been an awful and traumatic ordeal for her.
“He did not do that. There is considerable value in the guilty plea, more so than in a normal case.”
Tremarco was described as a “decent” man who had had several relationships since, with partners providing references for him.
Advocate Herold-Howes said the case was “out of the ordinary”.
“This is historic, very serious offending, 20, 30 years ago.
“He has lived a lifetime since, he has lived a good lifetime since.
“It’s almost impossible to reconcile the flashes of anger and violence with the man that he is today.”
Announcing a community service order of 456 hours, Commissioner Sir William Bailhache, presiding, said that the courts “wish to send out the strongest message that domestic abuse will not be tolerated”.
He highlighted the “seriousness of the assaults” but added that Tremarco had made an effort to take himself out of the situation and had no other convictions for 24 years.
The Jurats were split on the decision, with two advocating for a custodial sentence and three for community service.
Sir William said that though there were two female Jurats sitting, the split in opinion was not along gender lines.
He did not receive a domestic abuse protection order under the Domestic Abuse Law 2022, but was given a five-year restraining order.
The Jurats sitting were Elizabeth Dulake, Kim Averty, Andrew Cornish, David Le Heuzé, and Michael Berry.
