'Pathetic' abuser beat girlfriend before begging her to keep quiet with 'schoolboy poetry'

A “vile and pathetic” former paratrooper subjected his girlfriend to a year ofwhile trying to make up for his actions with “schoolboy poetry”.

Dean O’Hanlon, 36, madeto his partner including striking her with a broom, dog cage and bathroom door. He also pushed and kicked her around her home.

O’Hanlon a “fat, ugly, useless rat” and a “horrible mess”. The former soldier also told her to kill herself, according a report in . A judge said O'Hanlon deployed a “domestic abusers' playbook” by subjecting the victim to emotional blackmail, blaming her for his behaviour and issuing false apologies.

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The judge also slammed the “schoolboy poetry” O’Hanlon sent the victim from prison as he tried to get her to drop the case against him.

The former paratrooper, from Erdington, toured in but was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after seeing a friend killed by an improvised explosive device. O’Hanlon also dealt with other mental health issues by self-medicating on illegal drugs, Birmingham Crown Court heard. His barrister said “exceptional circumstances” were behind a request for a suspended sentence after one of his children was seriously injured in a car accident, but Judge Peter Cooke said O’Hanlon’s behaviour was “too bad” for him to walk free.

O’Hanlon was sentenced to two years and three months after admitting one offence of controlling and coercive behaviour.

The victim and O’Hanlon’s relationship began in March 2023, but ended with him hiding behind a shed and being arrested a year later. The first incident had occurred in July 2023 when O'Hanlon threw a dog cage at her leg during an argument. One month after that, O’Hanlon locked her out of her own home. In January this year, he called her a “fat, useless mess”, struck her with a brush causing her to scream in pain and also blamed her for losing his job when she refused to give him money.

Thomas Griffiths, prosecuting, said: "His behaviour towards her became progressively more aggressive, assaulting her, causing damage to her property, asking for money on multiple occasions. At the beginning there were no issues but things started to change."

In February this year, the victim confided in O'Hanlon about a previous incident while they were watching television together. O’Hanlon responded by accusing her of “begging for it from another man” before he pushed her against a kitchen cabinet. Further abuse occurred when he said her TikTok account was “riddled with geezers” and he called her a “loose, loose human being”.

O’Hanlon repeatedly kicked his girlfriend in her leg and struck her with a broom so hard she was unable to do the school run in an incident March. On another occasion that month, he got angry with her for waking him up because he had a car-related appointment. As they rowed later in the day, O’Hanlon branded her a “horrible mess and ugly rat”.

He ordered the woman to find his socks and then told her they would not be going out for a meal with friends that evening. But when she tried to message them O'Hanlon smacked her phone away and demanded she get ready.

He then pursued his crying partner upstairs, pressed his head against hers and said "you better f***ing go". O'Hanlon continued to scream and shout at her in the car and the couple waited outside the restaurant for 45 minutes, during which he forced her head against the seatbelt retractor.

The couple ultimately abandoned the occasion. Mr Griffiths said: "They went home. She told the defendant their relationship had come to an end."

O’Hanlon resorted to sending her threatening emails. “Lord hear me you will suffer the consequences” and “you know damn well it will get nasty I can make your life a living hell”, he warned her after finding out his partner had booked a holiday for herself and her children - a trip she had originally asked him to go on.

O'Hanlon threatened to trash her BMW and demanded £400 from her for him to return the keys. Later, he barged his way into her home and resumed the verbal abuse. He kicked her in the leg, accused her of cheating and then struck her in the face with a tracksuit.

O’Hanlon also slapped the victim across the face with a phone and placed a duvet over her head. This led the victim to think she was going to be killed. Two neighbours knocked at the front door amid the commotion and O’Hanlon goaded them by saying “what the f*** you two going to do?”

One day later, he sent several messages of an apology to the victim, claiming he had experienced an overdose and also asked to see her. Following this, he accused her of “provoking him” and he threatened to turn up at her work. O’Hanlon also called one of her colleagues 17 times before he was arrested the same day.

“Drop this”, he told her in a letter following his arrest, also saying he “lost control of myself and didn't treat you right”.

O’Hanlon admitted he could be a “nasty person when angry” before accusing the victim of the same things he had done. The judge slammed O'Hanlon's “domestic abuser's playbook” tactics and prison letters, however.

He said: "They have given me an insight into what a manipulative individual you are capable of being with your schoolboy attempts at poetry and declarations of love.

"In interview you trotted out the usual domestic abusers' mantra 'she was controlling, she starts fights and I sometimes retaliate'. It's pathetic. You are one of those vile men who if the mood takes him will beat the hell out of a woman he's supposed to love. That's the reality you proved time and time again." The judge added that O'Hanlon “wickedly and cruelly maltreated someone for months using the most unspeakable psychological cruelty”.

Clare Rennie, defending, said: "He has shown some level of determination to take steps to address this offending behaviour.” Ms Rennie also said O’Hanlon had sought mental health help, was on medication and was “remorseful”.