Colchester: More than two years in jail for suffocating woman

A Mersea man has been sentenced to more than two years in prison after he pleaded guilty to suffocating a woman.

Nicholas Dimopoulos, 31, of Empress Avenue in Mersea Island, pleaded guilty to non-fatal suffocation and causing actual bodily harm during a nine-day trial at Ipswich Crown Court.

The charges were in relation to an assault police were called to in the Blackheath area of Colchester on 4 February 2024.

At the scene officers found the victim had sustained several injuries to her face, including two swollen black eyes.

Officers tracked down Dimopoulos, and he was charged by police on 1 March 2024 and remanded in custody.

He was also charged with rape, attempting to cause grievous bodily harm, and assault by penetration, but was found not guilty of these charges by a jury on 22 August 2024.

For the non-fatal suffocation and causing actual bodily harm, he was given two concurrent prison sentences of two years and four months, as well as a 10-year restraining order.

He will also have to pay a £228 victim surcharge.

Robert Kedar, of our Domestic Abuse Problem Solving Team, said:

"Nicholas Dimopoulos is a dangerous perpetrator of domestic violence and it has taken real courage from the victim to provide evidence about her ordeal.
"Our officers put dozens of hours of work into this case, and dozens more into monitoring and disrupting Dimopoulos’ behaviour before he was brought into custody.
"Offenders like Dimopoulos require constant management by our officers to make sure they are compliant with all the conditions placed on them when they’re released.
"We are glad he will receive a custodial sentence and a lengthy restraining order."

At Essex Police we put victims at the heart of everything we do. The Victims’ Code explains the rights that everyone can expect to receive as a victim of crime, and helps us define what we must do for all victims from their initial contact with our force until the conclusion of their case.

Find out more about the code and to understand the rights of a victim of crime, on our Support for victims and witnesses of crime page.

To report a crime, please use our digital 101 service. In an emergency call 999. 

If you enter a relationship with someone new and start to feel a little unsure about the situation, there are steps you can take.

Clare's Law gives any member of the public the right to ask the police if their partner may pose a risk to them.

For more information about Clare's Law and how to make an application please visit our domestic violence disclosure scheme page.