A local man who bit a woman on the face, choked her and forced his fingers in her mouth has been jailed for 20 months.

Alexis Duarte, 38, of Beach View Terraces, was sentenced at the Supreme Court yesterday following an eight day trial that ended last month.

He was found guilty by a jury of three counts of Assault Occasioning Actual Bodily Harm. 

Duarte was sentenced to 20 months in prison for the biting offence, 20 months in prison for choking the victim and 10 months in prison for forcing her mouth open with his fingers.

The court ordered that the sentences were to run concurrently, meaning he will spend a total of 20 months behind bars.

Duarte was found not guilty of seven other charges relating to the same incident.

Puisne Judge Liam Yeats said: “These offences are so serious that only a custodial sentence can be justified.”

The judge accepted that Duarte, who has no previous convictions, had expressed remorse for his actions.