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. 

A statement from the RGP folows below:

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.