Corby woman helps jail monster who bullied her into sex 20 times a day, almost strangled her to death and locked her in a flat for a week

‘I’ve never been more relieved to see a rolling pin,’ jokes Stephanie Walker just seconds after seeing the brute who made her life a misery sent to jail.

The brave domestic abuse survivor is outside court speaking about the time bully Dean Hutchison told her he was going to ‘end her’ with a knife, and instead came out of the kitchen carrying a rolling pin, which he then used to violently batter her.

It was just one of a series of horrific rapes, strangulations and physical assaults that Hutchison meted out over their eight-month relationship.

The defendant, from Argyll Street in Corby, also controlled every second of her life and then attempted to gaslight Stephanie into believing that she was the aggressor.

But she managed to break free from his control and found the strength to stand up in court and give the key evidence that saw him jailed for 13 years.

Stephanie, who is also from Corby, has now bravely spoken out after waiving her life-long right to anonymity because she knows the only person who should be ashamed is Hutchison.

‘I wanted to stand up there and tell everyone what happened’

She was supported at the sentencing hearing at Northampton Crown Court yesterday (Friday, February 8) by her close female friends and neighbours whose support helped hold her up during the trial in which she had to give evidence for five-and-a-half hours.

"I did it from the witness box without curtains or screens because I wanted to stand up there and tell everyone what happened,” she said.

"I got a grilling and it was very tough to deal with.

"I’m not ashamed. Why should I be? I feel like hearing this might help other women.”

Hutchison did not attend yesterday’s hearing, instead appearing on video link from prison.

At the trial just before Christmas the 40-year-old had denied eight offences including repeated rapes, intentional strangulation, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and coercive control.

But a jury did not believe his lies and instead found him guilty of all the charges against him.

Neighbour Megan Donovan also gave key evidence after hearing Hutchison repeatedly attack her friend from her downstairs flat.

‘He demanded sex up to twenty times a day’

During the trial the court heard that Stephanie had awoken on one occasion at 3am to find Hutchison raping her.

The jury was told horrific details of how he had repeatedly locked her in his flat for long periods of time, taking the WiFi router with him so she could not use the internet.

He demanded sex up to twenty times a day.

Stephanie was working night shifts and became sleep deprived because Hutchison would repeatedly phone her while she tried to sleep in the day.

On one occasion she was locked in the flat by the defendant for a week and a friend was so worried she reported her missing.

He constantly accused her of cheating on him and interrogated her over the men she was supposedly sleeping with. When she couldn’t tell him their names he punched her in the face.

On a facetime call, Stephanie’s friend recalled Hutchison appearing naked in the background with an erect penis, ‘towering over her’ and being aggressive toward her.

The court was also told that Hutchison had strangled Stephanie to the point where she lost consciousness.

During one of the rapes he told her that ‘she was his girlfriend and so he could not rape her’.

On a separate occasion he told her he was going to stab her to death but instead emerged from the kitchen with a rolling pin and battered her with it so badly that she had to take eight weeks off work.

In June last year, after the couple had been together for eight months, he deliberately took her keys and phone out with him. When she caught up with him in the Nationwide building society she took his phone and so he reported her to the police. He then posted explicit photos of her to her own Facebook account.

Stephanie then found the strength to leave Hutchison, but because he denied the allegations she had to give evidence in court.

‘You painted yourself as the victim’

Stephanie and her friends watched from the public gallery and cried out with joy as his sentence was delivered by Her Honour Judge Rebecca Crane, who said to Hutchison: “You considered you were entitled to act in any way you pleased toward Miss Walker.

"You were jealous and controlling.

"She was unable to extract herself from the relationship because she believed you were building a life together.

"You manipulated the situation and painted yourself as the victim so she felt sorry for you.”

Judge Crane said that Hutchison met the criteria of a ‘dangerous offender’ which means she believes he poses a significant risk of serious harm to members of the public in the future.

She gave him a ten-year sentence for the rape offences of which he must serve two-thirds before he can be considered for parole. He was also given a three-year consecutive sentence for coercive and controlling behaviour of which he must serve half before he can be released. All the other sentences were concurrent.

It means he will serve at least eight years and four months behind bars.

When he is released he will be subject to an extended sentence for five years meaning if he commits another offence he will be returned to prison.

He was also banned from going within 100m of Stephanie’s address or from contacting her for 18 years.

The judge made no separate Sexual Harm Prevention Order because she said the conditions of Hutchison’s release were sufficient to protect the public.

‘I kept covering for him’

After the sentencing Stephanie said that she felt she could now start to recover from her ordeal.

"It’s only really in the past four weeks that I’ve started to feel a bit better,” she said.

"I couldn’t have done it without these women. I think I’d be dead if I hadn’t left him when I did.

“They all knew what was going on at the time but I couldn’t tell the police. I kept covering for him. I left him for three weeks but went back. He grabbed me by the throat and my nose was bleeding and the neighbour phoned the police.

"I did a Clare’s Law request and they came and told me what he’d done before. They came out a few times and kept telling me. I think that definitely helped me leave in the end."

‘I knew what was going on’

The court was told that Hutchison had several previous convictions including for battery and arson in 2009, which related to a physical assault on his former partner Naomi Smith who supported Stephanie in court.

Naomi, who was in a relationship with Hutchison for three years, said after the sentencing: “I knew what was going on. I knew he was hurting Stephanie but it was so difficult to challenge. It took me a decade to get over what he did to me.

"I’m so glad that he’s finally in prison where he belongs. He has done this to other women and got away with it for so long. Stephanie has been amazing.”

Megan’s pal Caitlin Loakes said she also struggled to watch what was happening to her friend.

"I knew it was happening,” she said. “But she thought she could change him.”

Neighbour Megan Donovan repeatedly called the police after hearing the assaults. She said: “I heard it all. It was awful. I think what Stephanie’s done will help keep other women safe from him. I’m proud of her.”

- If you are suffering from domestic abuse there is a range of local services that can help you. You can view them here.

- If you believe your partner may have a history of abuse then you can make an application under Clare’s Law and police will tell you of any relevant information they think you should know.

Always call 999 in an emergency.