Yellowknife (Feb 21/05) - A man who "terrorized" his former common-law wife and attacked her twice in two days - including once less than an hour after being released from jail - was sentenced to two years in custody, Friday.

"(The victim) needs to be protected from you," said territorial court judge Bernadette Schmaltz during an hour-long hearing in Yellowknife. "(She) is not your property."

The man pleaded guilty to a host of charges, including two counts of assault, uttering death threats, resisting arrest and breach of an undertaking. The charges stemmed from a two-day rampage that began when the man - separated from his common-law wife for nearly two years - spotted her walking around Rae with another man, Aug. 14, 2004.

He grabbed the woman by the arm and began to berate her, before being arrested by police and spending the night in custody. He was released the next day at around 1:30 p.m. under a court order to stay away from her - an order he broke less than half hour later when he showed up at the house where she was staying.

The man, who defence attorney Kelly Payne said was already intoxicated, broke into her room and began punching her in the face and body. The woman's 16-year-old cousin tried to stop the attack, but the man began punching the teenager, who was able to escape and eventually alerted police.

Meanwhile, the man continued to punch the woman and even threatened to kill her, before finally ordering her to clean her face in the bathroom.

The man was apprehended by police a short time later and has been in custody since.

"When I hear the circumstances, even in the sterile setting of the courtroom, I am afraid one day you will carry out the threats," said Schmaltz.

The man had 28 previous convictions on his record, including two for assaulting his former common-law wife and a third for threatening to kill her, Schmaltz said. During a rambling address to the court, the man repeatedly apologized for the years of violence.

"I think about what I did. I can't sleep good," said the father of two. "I want to teach good morals to my boy."

Schmaltz questioned the sincerity of his pleas, pointing to a criminal record she described as "horrendous."

"You tell me how sorry you are. That hasn't seemed to stop you," she said. "There is a very high risk you will re-offend and (your former wife) will be the victim," she said.