A mother-of-three says her abusive ex viciously attacked her and forced her to go on the school run with him minutes later.
Tanya Villiers, from Rochester, says her former boyfriend Dominic George told her to cover up the horrific injuries he had inflicted on her while picking her children up from school.
The 33-year-old had split up with her 30-year-old partner just seven weeks after he had served a previous prison sentence.
But instead she told MyLondon how he had used a spare key to get into her home before brutally attacking her while her three-year-old boy played downstairs.
The incident left her face purple and swollen, and last week George was sent back to prison for 15 months and given a five year restraining order after being convicted of the attack.
Tanya Villiers says her ex boyfriend viciously attacked her while her three-year-old son was playing downstairs. Here she is pictured with bruises and swelling to her face after the assault
Dominic George and Ms Villiers in happier times. George has now been jailed for 15 months and ordered not to contact her for at least five years
The 30-year-old had previously been remanded in custody by a judge after assaulting a woman in 2014.
However the mum claims he told her he was behind bars for a different reason.
The full-time mum, from Rochester, met George in 2016, though the two were initially ‘just friends’, she said.
Ms Villiers began a relationship with George while he was serving a prison sentence, sending him money and visiting him.
After George was released from prison in November 2021, the two began dating.
But on January 17, the day after her nine-year-old son’s birthday, Ms Viliers said she broke up with George claiming he had been dishonest during their relationship.
Ms Villiers said George told her he would be coming to her house to collect his belongings, despite her protests.
‘He didn’t have much here – maybe a couple of boxers and a t-shirt,’ she said.
About two hours later, she claimed George let himself into the property using a spare key and demanded Ms Villiers hand over her phone, slapping her across the face.
Ms Villiers, pictured here with bruising and swelling to her face, says her former boyfriend forced her to go on the school run with him. She says he made her hide the injuries when in public
Conscious that her three-year-old boy was in the house at the time, Ms Villiers said she did not confront him and handed the phone over.
Ms Villiers said George then allegedly followed her into the bedroom, where he shouted at her before launching a violent attack on her.
‘As I’m in my bedroom I can hear him stamping up the stairs. Next thing I know he’s on top of me laying into my face, telling me that I’m taking him for a mug,’ she said.
‘I just kind of lay there and took it because my son was downstairs and I was worried about what he might do to him.’
Ms Villiers said she did not fight back and eventually, George stopped the attack.
Realising the time, she told George she needed to collect her other two children from school.
George, who still had Ms Villiers’ phone but feared she would call the police, refused to allow her to leave, she added.
The terrified mum suggested George come with her on the school run, to which she said George agreed, ordering Ms Villiers to cover her swollen face with her hair.
She remembers him telling her: ‘Don’t do anything stupid.’
Ms Villiers said George repeatedly told her to cover her face on the way to school.
She said she had planned to seek help in the school’s reception but claims George grabbed the hand of her eldest son, preventing her from lingering at the school.
Ms Villiers says George (pictured) smirked at her as he was sent to prison at Woolwich Crown Court last week
What is Clare’s Law? How you can find out your partner’s domestic violence history, thanks to father’s campaign
Clare Wood, 36, was strangled by an ex
Clare’s Law was created in 2014 following a campaign by Michael Brown, whose daughter was murdered by her ex-boyfriend.
The initiative, officially called the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme, was designed to provide people with information that may protect them from a potentially abusive situation.
The scheme allows the police to disclose information about a partner’s previous history of domestic violence or violent acts.
Clare Wood, 36, was strangled and set on fire by her ex-boyfriend George Appleton at her home in Salford, Greater Manchester, in February 2009.
The mother-of-one had met Appleton on Facebook, unaware of his horrific history of violence against women, including repeated harassment, threats and the kidnapping at knifepoint of one of his ex-girlfriends.
The group then went to a local park, where Ms Villiers said she began to feel sick, all the while she said George ordered her to keep her face covered.
‘My nine-year-old knew something was wrong. He didn’t want to play. He was walking around watching what I was doing,’ Ms Villiers said.
To escape George, Ms Villiers began telling George she loved him and that she didn’t want to see him go to prison.
‘It was obviously bulls***, but I just wanted to to get home,’ she said.
Ms Villiers managed to make it back to the house with George, who she said ‘showed no remorse’ for her bruised face.
She told George a friend was due to drop off some toilet paper at the house and he should leave if she didn’t want the friend to call the police.
Ms Villiers said that George then grabbed a knife and threatened to kill himself.
She said: ‘I remember thinking, ‘I don’t give a s*** if you kill yourself, just don’t do it in my house. I’m not moving a body thanks’.’
George then left the house, taking the knife with him, she added.
Ms Villiers then sent her friend a message: ‘F*** the bog roll, you need to get here now.’
The friend arrived within minutes, called an ambulance and then the police. George was arrested hours later, while Ms Villiers was taken to hospital.
‘I remember thinking, ‘please let something be broken’, because at least he’ll get a longer sentence,’ she said.
George, of Dulwich, South London, was convicted of causing Actual Bodily Harm, as the injuries had not caused a bleed nor broken any bones, and ordered to pay a £156 victim surcharge.
Ms Villiers said her ex smirked at her throughout the hearing at Woolwich Crown Court on Monday (February 21).
He was sentenced to 15 months in prison, although Ms Villiers worries he may be released early on good behaviour.
‘I’m more worried about any future victims,’ she said.
‘It’s not gonna stop, it’s just not.’
If you are worried about an abusive partner, it’s important to tell someone and remember you’re not alone.
You do not have to wait for an emergency situation to find help.
Women can call The Freephone National Domestic Abuse Helpline, run by Refuge on 0808 2000 247 for free at any time, day or night. The staff will offer confidential, non-judgemental information and support.
Men can call Men’s Advice Line on 0808 8010 327 (Monday and Wednesday, 9am to 8pm, and Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, 9am to 5pm) for non-judgemental information and support.
