Owen Dodd, 23, has been jailed for 680 days and handed an indefinite restraining order after admitting assault occasioning actual bodily harm and criminal damage. The sentence was passed at Liverpool Crown Court following a brutal attack on his girlfriend during a holiday in Tenerife.
The court heard that Dodd, described by the sentencing judge as a "controlling bully", bit the 22-year-old woman on the cheek in a nightclub "without warning" and later punched and kicked her repeatedly as they walked back to their hotel. The violence continued in their hotel room, where he pushed her head into a mirror, causing it to smash.
Relationship problems began early
The couple's relationship began in December 2024 but became "strained" after Dodd lost his job and "made little or no effort to get another", instead "spending most of his time playing computer games". The woman had told her mother before the Tenerife trip that she "had a bad feeling about this", following a previous holiday to Mexico in February last year where "several arguments and incidents" took place.
During the first day of the "drinking holiday" to Tenerife, the couple visited multiple pubs and bars, drinking alcohol and taking cocaine and ecstasy. When Dodd's cousin challenged him about his behaviour after the nightclub bite, Dodd smashed a bottle and threatened to stab his relatives before agreeing to put it down when his partner agreed to return to the hotel with him.
Attack continued despite victim falling
On the walk to the hotel, Dodd "lost his temper again", screaming in his girlfriend's face and punching her two to three times. The woman fell and hit the back of her head on a kerb, but Dodd continued to kick her to the head as she tried to get up from the ground. The assault only stopped when another group of men intervened by attacking Dodd, as the woman "begged them to stop".
Back in the hotel room, the violence resumed. Dodd pushed her into a mirror, causing it to smash, and blamed her for the attack he was involved in. The next morning, after "sobering up and seeing what he had done", Dodd cried and bought her sunglasses to hide her black eyes. The woman suffered blurred vision, bruising and scratches to her face, a split lip, and a lump to the back of her head.
Threats to stalk after relationship ended
Dodd told her he had lost his temper because her "crying made him angry when he was drunk" and "promised not to touch her again". However, on April 3, while visiting his grandparents, his "temper exploded". During the drive home, he tried to grab the steering wheel while his girlfriend was driving and punched the windscreen when she stopped the car. That was their "last face to face contact".
Despite this, Dodd continued to contact her via phone and social media, telling her she "might as well contact the police, otherwise he'd stalk her and never leave her alone". She reported his actions after being encouraged to do so by both his and her parents. The incidents forced her to take five months off work after being diagnosed with PTSD, fearing the emotional and psychological damage "will stay with her forever".
Philip Astbury, defending, told the court: "It is a particular unpleasant offence. It took place at a time when the complainant no doubt felt vulnerable and isolated abroad." He added that Dodd never had support for his alcohol and substance misuse and that he "clearly" has issues "with relationships and his temper". Dodd also has mental health issues and has been medicated for anxiety in the past.
Sentencing, Recorder Tania Griffiths KC said: "This occurred only a few months after the start of the relationship. Problems in the relationship began very shortly afterwards. Your behaviour was, almost immediately, seriously predatory and controlling. You bit her on the cheek. When members of your family challenged you, you broke a bottle and threatened to stab one of them. Your victim returned with you to the hotel. On the way, you assaulted her again, punching her several times. When she tried to get up off the ground, you kicked her in the face several times. Back at the hotel, you assaulted her again by pushing her head into a mirror. The next day, when you saw what you had done, you cried and were full of remorse, as many bullies are. She doubts that she will ever recover her sense of self and confidence. Fortunately, you both seem to have sensible and supportive families, who encouraged the end of the relationship. When she did break off the relationship, you threatened to stalk her. I have to say, it does not appear to me that you have taken any great steps to rehabilitate yourself. I appreciate that you were going through a difficult time. That does not mean you can take it out on any other partner you have. I have formed the very definite view that you are a controlling bully. Sometimes, the only language that a bully understands is one which has an immediate impact. The only sentence, in my judgement, that does that is one of immediate custody. I hope that gives you the wake up call that your family can't."
