A vicious abuser chased down his ex-girlfriend in a dark alleyway, knocked her to the ground and struck her with a metal pole.
Dylan Rose, of Waverley Road, Liverpool, stalked his former partner for months, bombarding her with abusive text messages and threatening to set his dogs on her and burn down her mother's house.
When she reported him to Merseyside Police, he tried to intimidate her into retracting her claims, calling her "a grass and a straight-up rat".
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The 27-year-old appeared at Liverpool Crown Court today, June 27, where he pleaded guilty to stalking, witness intimidation and criminal damage.
Prosecutor Paul Blasbery said Rose, a dad of one, had known the woman for five years before they became involved in a relationship in September 2021. But Rose soon began showing signs of controlling behaviour, and the young mum decided to end the relationship in March 2022.
Mr Blasbery said: "Even after stopping dating, Rose would give her time frames of how long she could be out for, he would send proof of where she was by sending her images. He started showing up at her address without warning.
"This continued to escalate. He would rev his engines outside her address, he would message and state he had been to her home while she was out, and on multiple occasions he would go through her phone without permission."
In April 2022, Rose messaged the woman boasting he had kicked down her front door, and when she returned home the next day she found her door had indeed been damaged.
His behaviour escalated further as he began to threaten her. On October 30 2022, he sent her a message which read: "Get your a** home now, or I'll smoke her house out", in reference to the woman's mother.
Mr Blasbery said: "He then started to call [the victim] a 'scumbag' and 'a horrible rat'. She says these threats were not uncommon. He continually made threats to use his dogs to attack her and her family."
The court heard the situation exploded into violence on several occasions. On June 18 2022, the woman was walking down an alleyway in Liverpool city centre in the early hours of the morning when Rose, on his bicycle, attacked her from behind, punching her in the head and jabbing a metal pole at her, causing her to bleed.
Rose stopped messaging the woman for several weeks in August 2022 after starting a new relationship, but returned to old habits after the woman messaged his new girlfriend to warn her about his behaviour. He threatened to "pull her windows out", and in November 2022 he threatened to kill himself if she continued to refuse to see him. When she did not respond, he said: "I should have gone through with it so you'd have the death on your hands."
On November 16, he showed up at her house and texted her telling her to come outside. The pair argued, and Rose grabbed the woman by the neck and pushed her onto the porch before leaving her with a bag containing earrings and a necklace.
He was also seen harassing the woman at Lime Street Station as she waited for a train to Manchester. After taking refuge in the first class lobby, she received a text from him threatening to "slit her face".
She reported him to the police, and on November 25 he sent her a series of abusive, threatening text messages, telling her: "I'm going to get you done for doing this to me, and spin it all on you".
In a police interview, Rose accused the woman of being jealous after the break-up, boasting: "I had the pick of three women and chose the best one."
He initially denied the charges, but changed his pleas to guilty the day his trial was due to begin.
Mr Blasbery said: "[The victim] has been diagnosed with PTSD and depression since this all started and she's on medication. She's really struggling. She can no longer work. She's moved back in with her family and she's completely gone off the rails.
"She's terrified for herself and her family for when the defendant is released from prison. No matter what orders are put in place, she feels he's going to come for her. She's constantly going to be looking over her shoulder and wondering about when that day will come."
John Rowan, defending, said Rose had started an anger management course at HMP Altcourse while awaiting his sentence, and was trying to overcome his problems with drug use.
He said: "The defendant is motivated to address these issues He accepts his behaviour was out of order and he's going to abstain from getting involved in any relationships until he's capable of being a good partner, a stable partner."
He said Rose continued to deny attacking the woman in the alleyway in June 2022.
Addressing Rose, Judge Michael Blakey said: "You are only 27 years old and you have quite a significant record of violence and the use of drugs. You say you intend to reform; there are issues with your mental health and the drug problem you intend to deal with. One hopes that is the case."
He sentenced Rose to a total of two years and eight months in prison, and made a restraining order forbidding him from contacting his ex-girlfriend.
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