SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - An Inuvik man pleaded guilty to two counts of assault on his common-law spouse, one where she jumped from a moving vehicle to escape.

The 25-year-old man received six months in jail Thursday afternoon for two separate counts of assault on his common-law spouse and one breach of probation.

Judge Robert Gorin said there was a "cause for concern" due to three prior convictions for assault, all on the same woman.

"In my view it should be longer," Gorin said of the sentence he imposed.

On May 1, the offender hit his spouse numerous times in the chest with a fist while driving in their car. Fearing for her safety, she jumped from the vehicle while it was in motion, injuring her hip in the process.

On May 28, he assaulted her numerous times over a four-hour period. Between 12:30 a.m. and 4 a.m., the man hit her a number of times with a fist on the neck, arms, chest and rib cage.

In a statement to police, she said her spouse had first strangled her after he asked if she had been cheating on him, which she denied. The assault began after he had started drinking. The victim was not drinking that evening and their one-year-old child was in the room during the assault. At one point the child started crying and the man became angry.

"There was a child present and your response was to get angry," Gorin said.

Before sentencing, the man spoke to the court, admitting he needs help. He said he wants to change.

"I am truly sorry and remorseful for what has transpired," the offender said, reading from a prepared statement. "These past few weeks have been torture. It's given me time to reflect on what I have done.

He said his spouse sees something in him but wonders what it is.

"...because all I see is demons," he said. "I want to change."

The man will be required to take counselling for alcohol and any other form of help his probation offer sees fit, once he is released from jail.