Tobias King, then aged 36, of no fixed abode, has been handed an extended sentence of ten years at Exeter Crown Court after admitting to strangling two women and distributing unsolicited sexually explicit images to multiple others.
The sentencing marks the conclusion of an extensive inquiry conducted by Devon and Cornwall Police, initiated in 2025 following a violent incident at a Premier Inn in Honiton.
Staff at the hotel contacted emergency services after the female victim arrived at reception exhibiting severe physical trauma and distress.
The woman had sustained extensive bruising to her arms, neck, legs, nose, and face.
She informed officers that King had falsely imprisoned her inside the hotel room, subjecting her to repeated physical assaults and strangling her until she lost consciousness.
During the ordeal, King told her he had to kill her and stated he was not going to prison for anyone.
He absconded from the premises at approximately 3 am after stealing her mobile phone and purse.
The severity of the strangulation left the victim with extensive throat trauma that impaired her ability to speak for several months.
King remained at large for nearly a fortnight, evading law enforcement by living in tents and transient hotel accommodation before detectives tracked him down following the fraudulent use of a stolen bank card.
Subsequent investigations carried out in collaboration with Dorset Police connected King to an earlier pattern of violence.
In late 2022, King had carried out an assault on a second woman in Bournemouth, strangling her inside a hotel room.
Two weeks later, King attacked the same victim again, hurling her onto a sofa and strangling her with both hands.
The following month, King sent her sexually explicit videos alongside messages instructing her to withdraw her police complaints.
Digital forensics further revealed that between January and October 2025, King had systematically distributed unsolicited images and videos of his genitals to various women using burner numbers and multiple social media profiles.
He additionally admitted sending illicit explicit communications to a woman in Bristol dating back to February 2021.
Appearing before Exeter Crown Court, King entered guilty pleas across an extensive indictment:
- Multiple counts of intentional strangulation
- False imprisonment
- Threats to kill
- Assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH)
- Common assault
- Theft
- Sending indecent images
- Four counts of sending a photograph or film of genitals to cause alarm, distress, or humiliation
On 9 September, the presiding judge deemed King a high danger to the public and passed an extended determinate sentence of ten years.
The disposal comprises a custodial term of 88 months (seven years and four months) coupled with an extended licence period of 32 months (two years and eight months).
The court also made King subject to indefinite restraining orders barring contact with both strangulation victims and ordered him to register under the statutory notification requirements of the Sex Offenders Register.
Release Calculation: Under UK sentencing legislation governing extended determinate sentences for violent and sexual offenders, King is not entitled to automatic halfway release. He is required to serve at least two-thirds (58 months and two weeks / approximately four years and ten months) of his 88-month custodial term in prison custody before becoming eligible to apply to the Parole Board for release. If early release is granted, King will serve the remainder of the sentence under strict probation supervision in the community until the full ten-year sentence period expires.
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