A JEALOUS man who tortured his wife with his cruelty has been spared jail despite showing no remorse for what he had done.

Valentino Fernandes spat at the woman and in her food, locked her out of the house in the winter and stopped her from seeing her son.

The woman was so scared of him she wouldn’t even leave the room to go to the toilet as she was forced to live upstairs with their daughters.

And he would abuse her in the street calling her a prostitute and a dog and suggesting in front of people including the children that she should sell herself for £3. But after saying Fernandes may not get help in prison to change his ways Judge Robert Pawson imposed a suspended sentence.

The 54-year-old had pleaded not guilty to a charge of controlling or coercive behaviour but was convicted following a trial at Swindon Crown Court.

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The jury heard he came to the UK from Goa in September 2016.

Before they left the Indian state the marriage was struggling and continued to deteriorate when the victim arrived in the UK.

Although he has family here she did not and as well as making her live upstairs, he also would not let her have a key.

As a result for two to three months soon after arriving in this country she spent long periods sitting in church to get out of the winter cold.

The judge said “There was evidence of low-level physical violence from him to her over the course of the previous couple of years.

“He would regularly spit at or on the victim and in her food.”

Sue Cavender, prosecuting, said the children, the youngest of whom is 14, told of violence towards their mother roughly twice a week.

“The girls persuaded her to stay in the room. She was even too frightened to go to the toilet if he was in the house, fearful of violence,” she said.

In a victim personal statement the mother, now in a refuge, said: “I can’t understand why someone who is supposed to love me could be so cruel, and to abuse me.”

Ellen McAnaw, defending, said Fernandes, formerly of Elmina Road but now of County Road, accepted the relationship was over and did not object to a restraining order.

Passing sentence the judge said: “Your behaviour has been abhorrent, it has been appalling and you are in denial.

“You continue to deny that you mistreated your wife. The jury were against you and quite understandably on very clear evidence.

“It was torture you were inflicting on her through your own twisted thinking.”

“You demanded money from her, you called her a whore and a prostitute. You said that in public saying she should be charging £3 for sex with men.

“You did this, if it wasn’t bad enough, in front of your children, calling your wife a dog.

“You have shown no remorse but you continue to labour under distorted thinking. You continue to blame your wife.

“If you go straight to prison and are released in 12 to 15 months it is unlikely that you will have received the sort of rehabilitative treatment that will be available with the engagement of you with the probation service.”

He imposed a two-year jail term suspended for 24 months with 300 hours of unpaid work and 30 days of rehabilitation activity requirement.

Speaking afterwards Det Con Matt Lewis said: “The sentence given today gives a clear message that this sort of behaviour should not be tolerated in a relationship.

“There is no excuse for controlling and abusive behaviour in any relationship and the victim in this case showed great courage by coming to the police. She is now being supported by Women’s Aid as she seeks to rebuild her life.”