A disgraced former Para has been jailed for harassing and assaulting a girlfriend he claimed to have loved.

But a judge heard that the terrified Canterbury university student was 30 year old James Mahoney’s third victim.

Twice, since 2007, the 30-year-old semi-professional boxer had been taken to court for attacks on ex-lovers.

Now Judge Rupert Lowe has told the former soldier: “You are an obsessive, violent and controlling man who is unable to relate to women, unable to take no for an answer and unable to have a relationship with women in which they are able to make free choices.”

Mahoney, of The Parade, Margate, had been convicted of harassment and four assaults on an ex-girlfriend – all committed while he was under the shadow of a suspended jail sentence for harassing a previous partner.

Canterbury Crown Court heard how the assaults took place in private and in public when he grabbed the woman’s hair and dragged her through Ramsgate streets before putting his hands around her throat and kicking her.

Mahoney later telephoned her and said: “How dare you leave me? I will kill you and then kill myself.”

Mary Jacobson, prosecuting, said in March he sent her 112 messages.

She said the most of the texts were “affectionate rather than threatening” adding: “They expressed his love for her but were extremely persistent”.

Mahoney followed up with 28 more, including some on WhatsApp, the following day and he was arrested, bailed, but ordered to stay away.

Ms Jacobson said that on March 11 the victim heard a car being revved up outside her home and saw Mahoney leaning out of the passenger window “laughing loudly and smirking”.

The judge said Mahoney had also locked his ex-lover in a room and kept her prisoner before deliberately shutting the door on her fingers.

Mahoney had also snatched his ex-girlfriend’s credit card and used it without permission, and thrown two glasses and a punch at her.

“You humiliated her for no reason. It is no exaggeration to say that you ruined that part of her life," he added.

Jailing him for a total of 26 months, Judge Lowe also ordered him to stay away from his ex-partner and areas of Thanet for 10 years.

He told him: “You blame all these women for what you have done because you have a distorted view of yourself, of women and oh your relationships. These women aren’t safe in a relationship with you.”

Mahony received concurrent six month jail sentences for each of four assaults in November, Christmas Day, December 27, 2015, and January 23, 2016, and four months for harassment.

The judge ordered them to run consecutively to the 18-month suspended sentence before adding another two months for breaching bail, making a total of 26 months.

Under sentencing regulations, Judge Lowe said he was restricted to passing a total of six months – despite there being five separate charges .

He told the Crown Prosecution Service that more serious charges should have been brought, which could have included causing actual bodily harm, false imprisonment and controlling and coercive behaviour.

“Whoever was in charge of this case probably wasn’t aware of that maximum total but should have been. There was an enormous choice of charges available to the Crown.

“They should think hard about charging, which they plainly didn’t in this case. This was a serious case of domestic violence against a third partner.

“I suspect that more serious charges weren’t brought through negligence, thus limiting my sentencing powers. I hope this message gets back to those who make decisions on charges.”