A man has denied coercive control of his partner including monitoring her phone messages and rationing the food she was allowed to eat. 

Jordan Shindler, 23, is said to have dictated who his 20-year-old girlfriend was allowed to see, sent abusive messages and insisted on a phone link to monitor what was said whenever she visited her mother.

Appearing at Norwich Magistrates’ Court he pleaded not guilty to intentional strangulation and controlling and coercive behaviour between September 2022 and July 2023.

Magistrates said it was “too serious” for their powers and committed him to stand trial at Norwich Crown Court with a first hearing scheduled for February 23. 

Shindler, of Sandown Road in Great Yarmouth, was given bail with conditions not to contact the complainant, to report to police daily, and not to enter Suffolk where the woman now lives.  

Prosecutors, who had argued he should be remanded in custody, said they intended to appeal.  

Coercive control is defined as controlling behaviour that has a "serious effect" on a partner, causing them to fear violence at least twice or causing them serious distress.