A jealous, manipulative controlling boyfriend repeatedly threatened and assaulted his mother-of-four partner leaving her living in fear at her Warrington home.
Ashley Browne, whose controlling behaviour spanned eight months, even threatened to turn up at her Warrington home and “p…s in her letter box.”
When interviewed by police about the allegations, Browne brazenly claimed that he was actually the victim, which a judge described as “nonsense.”
Browne,aged 37, who pleaded guilty to controlling or coercive behaviour, was jailed for 29 months.
Judge Gary Woodhall, who also imposed a ten-year restraining order, said that the defendant’s offending has left his victim “a shadow of her former self.”
Lee Bonner, prosecuting, told Liverpool Crown Court that the victim, a hairdresser, met Browne on a dating website and though their relationship was initially fine it deteriorated when his behaviour started to change.
He began monitoring her social media accounts and started being abusive to her. She realised that when she was asleep he would access those accounts and “block males that she might find attractive.”
Browne began isolating her from her friends and when she went to a client’s home he insisted on coming along and was abusive and flicked her on the head accusing her of flirting.
In October 2023 when she had a friend round at her Longford home he kept sending voice notes asking what she was doing. “He threatened to turn up at her house and p….s in her letter box,” said Mr Bonner.
In another incident, he dragged her around her lounge by her throat and threw items at her and she was left with scars to her forehead and right knee.
The court heard that he had also twisted her hand and broken a finger nail which was extremely painful.
By January last year their relationship was on-off and he turned up and barged his way into her home and grabbed her telephone and threw it across the room and called her names.
When the mum-of-four tried to call the police he head-butted her forcefully and when she recovered he did it again and said she would be dead if she called the police.
Mr Bonner said that he had made her wear baggy clothing to be less attractive to men and gave her no privacy, even in the toilet. He regularly checked up on her and accused her of flirting.
She ended the relationship on January 11 last year and reported him to the police the next day. That evening he went to a bowling alley where she was with her children and told her to leave.
“He said, ‘If you don’t come out I’ll smash your face in’. He was escorted out by staff. Shortly afterwards she received a message from a neighbour telling her the defendant was outside her house.”
Browne, of Fir Street, Cadishead, was arrested and his phone seized and when interviewed he admitted being jealous about her. He claimed it was her who was violent and controlling.
The victim has revealed that his behaviour left her feeling “frightened, worthless and anxious”.
Despite being forbidden from doing so Browne was still contacting her in March and she told the father of two of her children how he had been ringing her and making threats to her and him, with Browne saying “he needed to watch his back.”
He was arrested again and said she had “kicked off at him.”
Eve Salter, defending, said that Browne had no previous convictions and was remorseful. He had pleaded guilty ahead of his planned trial so sparing his victim having to come to court and give evidence.
He has two teenage children, who he has kept in touch with, and he is anxious to return to regular contact with them and go back to work. While in custody on remand he has been reflecting on his behaviour and his look out has changed.
Judge Woodhall told Browne, who appeared via video link from prison, “You had subversive control over her autonomy.
“You were controlling and jealous because you did not want her to socialise with other men. You sought to make her dependent on you. You were abusive, calling her vile names.”
The judge said that the defendant posed a high risk of offending against other partners and had left the victim feeling unsafe, even in her own home.
