A JEALOUS boyfriend who battered a bridesmaid at her sister’s wedding started abusing her on Facebook just after he escaped going straight to jail.

Aaron Williams left his then-girlfriend with a footprint on her face when he accused her of flirting with other men at the reception.

Jessica Gittings said she feared for her life during the appalling attack which saw her kicked and stamped on.

The 27-year-old Williams was handed a suspended prison sentence last June for the brutal assault and made the subject of a restraining order.

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The defendant was back in court this week for defying that order shortly after it was made.

Prosecutor William Bebb said Williams had done so after taking to social media to post offensive messages about his former partner between July and August 2020.

He told Cardiff Crown Court: “After the defendant was arrested, he told the police he had been drinking whilst doing this and had taken prescribed medication.

“He said he had deleted the posts when he sobered up. He expressed remorse for what he had done and said he was embarrassed.

“The defendant said his former partner had sold her story to newspapers and magazines and he had received a lot of hate mail.

“He told how he wanted to tell his side of the story.”

The defendant, of Bedwlwyn Road, Ystrad Mynach, pleaded guilty to breaching his restraining order and suspended jail sentence.

Ed Mitchard, representing Williams, said Miss Gittings had posted online news stories, including ones featured in the Argus, about her ordeal on Facebook.

His lawyer told how they had reached nearly 40,000 people.

Mr Mitchard said: “The defendant received death threats from all four corners of the Earth.

“He and his family were assaulted. He was abused in the street. He had to move home.

“His former partner sold the story to the Take a Break magazine and said in the two-page article that she wants everyone to know his name and that ‘it’s not over yet’”.

Mr Mitchard added: “It was these Facebook vigilantes, if I can put it like that, who helped him make a very poor decision.”

Judge David Wynn Morgan told Williams: “Men who hit women are cowards and you are a coward.”

He added: “You were feeling sorry for yourself but you could have simply avoided this by not using social media.

“Millions of people in this country don’t use it and they get along just fine.

“What you said to her in these posts beggars belief. You are a contemptible individual.

“Had this matter come before the court in a timely manner, I would have had no hesitation in sending you to prison.”

Because of the delay, Judge Wynn Morgan handed Williams a two-year community order.

He must carry out 150 hours of unpaid work and complete a 20-day rehabilitation activity requirement.