Ely man who beat his girlfriend and installed tracking device on her car is jailed for ‘shocking’ abuse
An Ely man who subjected girlfriend to “shocking” abuse - banging her head against a wall, breaking her finger in a door and holding her on a storage heater - has been jailed.
Daniel Ryan, 46, of Roswell View, even installed a tracking device on her car and, when she tried to leave, threatened to post intimate photographs of her online.
Ryan pleaded guilty to controlling and coercive behaviour and was sentenced to two years in prison and handed an indefinite restraining order against the victim at Cambridge Crown Court on Friday (January 21).
The court heard that Ryan started to show signs of this behaviour shortly after they began dating in January 2020.
Following a night out in February 2020, Ryan - who is known as Danny - grabbed his new partner’s unlocked phone and locked himself in the bathroom with it. She tried to get the door open, but Ryan slammed the door shut on her hand, crushing one of her fingers, which needed hospital treatment.
They had another argument the following weekend in his flat. Ryan pushed her down the stairs, grabbed her by the throat and held her off the ground against a night storage heater, leaving her with burns and blisters and in need of another trip to hospital.
Ryan became increasingly obsessed with knowing where his girlfriend was, insisting that he pick her up from work, go everywhere with her and constantly tried to check her phone.
He repeatedly accused her of seeing other people, despite finding no evidence on her phone. He subjected her to numerous further physical and emotional assaults, including banging her head against the wall, making her feel light-headed.
On another occasion, he struck her across the head so hard it caused bleeding.
As she made it clear she wanted to end the relationship, Ryan threatened to damage her reputation and share intimate photographs of her on social media.
After the relationship ended, she took her car to the garage for an MOT and a GPS tracker was found underneath the vehicle. It was linked to Ryan’s home and DNA and he was arrested.
Det Con Matt Smith said: “The victim was subjected to a shocking catalogue of violent and controlling abuse and has gone from being a confident and outgoing person to feeling vulnerable and afraid.
“No one should feel physically or emotionally intimidated in a relationship and we would urge anyone experiencing any kind of abuse to reach out to us and our partners for support."
For more information about domestic abuse and the ways police can help, visit
the dedicated pages at cambs.police.uk
Report crimes online by using our website or by calling 101 or 999 in an emergency.