Kevin Dean, 59, has narrowly avoided jail after falsely accusing his Polish neighbours of child neglect in retaliation for complaints about his barking Weimaraner puppy. Liverpool Magistrates Court heard that Dean's campaign of harassment included reporting the couple to police and social services, claiming they neglected their children, aged 15 and 9.
Court Details and Sentencing
Dean was convicted of harassment in April and sentenced on June 26, 2026. He was fined £500, ordered to pay £335 in costs, and given an 18-month community order with 20 rehabilitation activity days. A five-year restraining order prohibits him from contacting the victims. Dean, a father-of-five from Norris Green, Liverpool, also faces eviction from his housing association property and plans to move in with his elderly parents.
District Judge Timothy Boswell stated: "You made your neighbours feel trapped and unhappy in their own home."
Campaign of Harassment
The harassment began after the couple complained about Dean's puppy in August 2024. Dean posted malicious Facebook messages, accusing the wife of being an eBay scammer and suggesting her husband, a taxi driver, was "not who he claimed to be." In one post, Dean wrote: "I have reported them to NSPCC about abuse a few times. The kids are left alone."
The husband, who asked not to be named, described the impact: "It was extremely traumatic because we knew the impact of such an investigation. We live in a state of constant tension and hypervigilance."
Impact on Family
The false allegations affected the husband's university studies, preventing him from sitting exams. The couple's children, including an autistic son with ADHD, became stressed about being taken away. The husband added: "The public nature of Mr Dean's accusations has seriously damaged our reputation. False allegations were visible to over a thousand members of local Facebook groups."
Police and social services investigated the claims but found them baseless. The family's own CCTV footage disproved an allegation that the wife had pulled their daughter's hair. The husband noted: "We were able to demonstrate no such incident took place. The conclusion was that it was a malicious report."
Background of Dispute
The couple had lived in their home for nine years without issue until Dean moved in next door in August 2024. The husband said: "Every day and night we heard howling and barking of the dog." After a week, he spoke to Dean, who said the dog was a puppy and he would train it. However, the noise worsened. The husband observed: "We could see the dog leash was so short the dog could barely lie down."
When the couple complained to the RSPCA and housing association, Dean retaliated. The husband recalled: "I noticed outside my house some ripped pieces of letters, so I checked the recordings from my camera and saw the neighbour ripping the documents to pieces and throwing them outside my house."
Dean defended his actions in court, saying: "I owned the dog for a week and I had four letters through the door. I thought it was over the top. I was the one being civil. I am not childish."
