A CONTROLLING boyfriend has been jailed for abusing two women who were in relationships with him.

Sam Bridgeham piled “vicious” emotional pressure on one woman in Southwick, leaving her a “shell of her former self”.

The 33-year-old demanded she sent proof of where she was, messaged her friends asking where she was, and made threats to her family.

He admitted coercive control in an intimate relationship with the woman, who The Argus has chosen not to name.

At Lewes Crown Court earlier this month he was jailed for a total of three years and four months.

One of the women said she has a son with him, and said: “I am going to be panicking when he gets out of prison.”

Police say the building labourer, of Wallhouse Road in Erith, breached non-molestation orders four times towards a second woman from Portslade.

She told The Argus: “I feel a lot better now, but when he gets out I will not feel safe, I will be panicking and looking over my shoulder.

“He needs to be named and shamed, sharing the story could save someone’s life in future.”

Read more on The Argus: The ten signs of coercive control within a relationship, and what the law says

Detective Constable Greg Brown said: “Bridgeham gradually increased the emotional pressure on his then-partner, starting off by calling her abusive names and constantly criticising her.

“Then he monitored her phone calls and social media, asking her to take pictures and send them to him to confirm her location, and messaged her friends to monitor where she was.

“He refused to accept the relationship was over, and put on a fake accent to make threatening phone calls to her family.

“Then he sent numerous texts and made calls from withheld or new numbers, left flowers at her door, and even made fake calls to the police to get officers to attend her address in the middle of the night.”

The detective said Bridgeham’s conduct in continuing to contact a previous partner in defiance of a court order showed his behaviour was not an isolated blip.

DC Brown praised the women for their courage to see the case through to prosecution.

Read more on The Argus: It is now illegal to do these ten things in a relationship

He said: “Bridgeham made her feel like she was crazy and badly damaged her relationship with her family.

“This case illustrates the impact that this type of vicious behaviour can have on the victim in the long term, degrading self-esteem with the potential to make the victim a shell of their former self.

“In this case the victim said that for a long time her whole life was spent trying to please Bridgeham.”

Bridgeham was sentenced to two years and one month in prison for admitting coercive control, along with one year and three months after being found guilty of breaching a non-molestation order.

He was put under a restraining order for four years to prevent him contacting the victims.
After the case, DC Brown encouraged other victims in abusive relationships to come forward.

He added: “This case also shows that you do not need to suffer in silence. Help is at hand if you contact us. 

“We can investigate and can also ensure you have protection and access to specialist support.”

Advice is available on the Sussex Police website or by calling 101.