A CUMBRIAN detective who played a key role in bringing to justice to a controlling and 'sex-obsessed' rapist has urged abuse victims to not suffer in silence.

After a harrowing month-long trial at Carlisle Crown Court, the controlling bully who made his partner’s life a misery for more than a decade was this week jailed for 12 years and put on the Sex Offender Register indefinitely.

Labelled “dangerous” by the judge in the case, Suzanne Goddard QC, the man was given an extended sentence, meaning he will remain risk of recall to prison for three years after his 12 year sentence is over.

Judge Goddard heaped praise on both the victim and the police officers who carried out a painstaking investigation. 

The lead investigator in this case was Detective Constable Kate Cunningham, who described how the alarm was raised in May last year when a report came in that a man was holding his partner hostage.

The woman went on to disclose how her partner had subjected her to years of controlling and coercive behaviour, with the ordeal culminating in the man raping her and attempting to smother her with a pillow.

Though traumatised, she is now rebuilding her life, comforted by the knowledge that her tormentor is behind bars.

Detective Constable Cunningham welcomed the lengthy jail sentence, saying: “I’d like to commend the victim for the bravery she has shown by disclosing to us what was happening to her.

“This offender had shown her no respect whatsoever and was incredibly controlling throughout their relationship. He was manipulative and was able to mask his abuse by isolating the victim from her family and friends.

“Like many domestic abuse offenders, he seemed fixated on control. He recorded the victim whilst she slept, made threats of violence, accused her of having affairs and coerced her into acting in a manner of his choosing. His actions were truly despicable and damaging.

“It is our hope that the successful conviction achieved will encourage people to report if they are victim to domestic or sexual abuse. By informing us of what has happened, we can then investigate and bring offenders to justice.

“Importantly, alongside any criminal investigation, we will ensure that you receive the appropriate safeguarding and support. We work with trusted partner agencies who can provide tailored support to meet the needs of any individual.

“Please do not suffer in silence.”

Detective Chief Inspector Vicki Coombes, from Cumbria Police’s North Cumbria Crime and Safeguarding Team, added: “This man is a dangerous individual who subjected his partner to years of horrific abuse.

“I’d like to praise the officers who investigated this case for the determination they have shown to bring this man to justice. From the very outset they have all worked diligently to capture all available evidence and build a comprehensive case to prove the offences that this offender committed.”

At the conclusion the man’s trial, the court heard moving statements from the victim, who described herself as a survivor, and her children.

The victim spoke of how her partner sought to completely dominate her, using his IT skills to monitor her digital communications and track her every movement by using an ap fitted to her phone if she tried to leave him.

She was not even allowed to visit a hairdressers alone, the court heard. 

If she tried to leave him, he had warned, he would punish her by publising intimate videos he had recorded without her knowledge on social media. The woman concluded her statement by thanking everybody involved in bringing her former partner to justice – including the judge and court staff.

She said: “I want to praise Kate Cunningham especially and Kerry Gibson, from Carlisle CID, who made the entire process so much easier.”

She also thanked her children for keeping her afloat, and her ‘angel,’ the woman who has been her independent sexual violence advisor, from Cumbria Victim Support. “She picked me up, dusted me down, and listened to me sobbing down the phone of far too many occasions.”

In her statement, one of the woman’s adult children said: “Since my mum escaped him, I have lived for 14 months thinking he would try to kill her.

“The dark places your brain goes to when you think you will lose your mum is too painful and something I really struggle with. I was told how my mum was on a homicide timeline and that [the defendant] was at his most dangerous.

“I have nightmares every night of him trapping us in our house… [He] won’t stop and that’s why it’s so important he is away for a long time. I’ve never seen someone so dangerous and manipulative.”

The man can not be named for legal reasons. He denied wrongdoing but a jury declared him guilty of rape, engaging in controlling and coercive behaviour, two counts of voyeurism and intimidating a witness.

If you wish to report an incident of domestic or sexual abuse, please contact police. You can report online at www.cumbria.police.uk/report-it or calling 101. If it is an emergency or a crime is in action, please dial 999.

For more information on the support available for victims of domestic or sexual abuse, please visit www.cumbria.police.uk/get-advice/personal-safety.

Also read: 'The Bridgeway' - a lifeline for Cumbria's sex crime victims