A violent dad sent a three-word tweet on the day he was sentenced for abusing his girlfriend.
Ryan Hunter, of Walton Lane, Walton, appeared at Liverpool Crown Court on Wednesday, May 10, after being found guilty of two counts of engaging in controlling and coercive behaviour and two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm. The 33-year-old previously pleaded guilty to two counts of producing cannabis and one count of abstracting electricity.
On the day of his sentencing Hunter posted a picture on Twitter which read "that's all folks". The post had 14 replies and almost 50 quote retweets with people calling his post "insane" and calling what he did "horrible".
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Martine Snowden, prosecuting, said Hunter subjected his partner of nine years to substantial verbal and physical abuse for three years. The court heard that Hunter stabbed his victim in the leg with a cutlery knife and, on another occasion, punched her in the face causing a fractured tooth.
As part of the sustained abuse, Hunter would throw his partner onto the couch, calling it a “back-breaker”, knowing she had back problems and push his thumbs into her eyeballs. He would also place a bag over the mother of his child’s head, asking her “how long it would take her to escape”, and then tell her “you could have bit through the bag you m***”.
When she tried to end the relationship, Hunter threatened to kill her and take their child away. On one occasion, Hunter smashed cups in a fit of rage because the victim had not made him a cup of tea the way he wanted and then threatened to pour hot water over her.
Another day, the victim had not done Hunter’s washing, so he pinned her to the bed where he punched and strangled her, saying “I have got no f***ing clothes”. The victim recorded several bouts of verbal and physical abuse against her which were played in court during the trial.
He could be heard saying “How thick are you?, I will stab you, you f***ing little rat” and the sound of slapping was audible. In 2019, after the victim returned from the school run slightly later than he expected, Hunter demanded to know where she had been, then said “I am going to kill you or someone” which she recorded.
He took her to the bathroom, held her against a wall and threw a phone at her, before the victim managed to leave and finally escape the relationship. The prosecution read a victim impact statement written by the victim three years after the end of the offending which described her long-term anxiety caused by the years of abuse - she still feels she has to “look over her shoulder” and suffers flashbacks.
She said she had been “berated by the defendant since the age of 13”,and “used like a punching bag”. The victim added when she cried, Hunter would hurt her further, and used her money for drugs and gambling, leaving her in considerable debt.
Ms Snowden also detailed the two charges relating to production of cannabis which came to light in 2019 after police discovered £7,800 worth of the drug. She said he would “make” her assist in the crime by bagging the cannabis.
Hunter has several previous convictions for harassment, drug offences, and further offences against the same victim that post-date this offending, as he continued to spend her money after the relationship had ended. Paul Becker, defending, said Hunter now has a new partner who stands by him and his family sent letters to the court showing a “different side to the defendant”.
The court heard he has not been in custody since 2019, and is “apprehensive” about the prospect of returning. Mr Becker also emphasised the long delay in proceedings, stating that his client was interviewed in 2019 but not brought to court for the first time until 2022.
Mr Becker added Hunter has ADHD and anxiety. Judge David Swinnerton, who presided over the trial, said the only reason the indictment period ran for only three years is because that was when the Serious Crime Act was implemented but that the evidence heard showed “years and years of abuse”.
He described the “emotional blackmail” Hunter subjected the victim to, and said he used the victim's bank account "as he wished". Judge Swinnerton said: “You controlled her life.
“Some of the behaviour was intended to maximise fear and distress,. You used multiple methods of controlling and coercive behaviour. “There was nothing sophisticated about it but the conduct was intended to humiliate and degrade her."
Judge Swinnerton said, in 2017, Hunter began a new relationship with another woman but continued to stay with the victim “using her as a place to live and for the money and for waiting on you like a servant, as she put it, "like a slave”.
He added Hunter showed no victim empathy or understanding of his crimes and the fact their young daughter was a witness to, and “living through”, much of the offending was an aggravating feature. Regarding the cannabis growth, Judge Swinnerton said: "You had a growth that you were selling and you were making the victim bag that up for you."
Hunter was sentenced to five years imprisonment and a restraining order barring him from contacting the victim was imposed indefinitely. The court ordered the drugs be destroyed.
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