A woman said she had no idea her boyfriend would be dangerous as he was jailed over a campaign of terror against her.
Ricky Coddington subjected Claire Wenham to vile abuse for 14 months, the Liverpool Echo reports. The 34-year-old, who had a job at Gulliver's World, threatened her, isolated her from her family and forced her to quit her job.
The fraught relationship finally came to an end in November 2022, when he deliberately crashed his car into hers in a rage after she left the house to go to a football match. Claire said she had no idea about his previous convictions of violence against women until she saw watched him get sent down in court.
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Describing Coddington, she said: "He was like Jekyll and Hyde. He'd love-bomb one minute and then he'd be violent and aggressive the next."
In a victim statement, she added: "I live in fear, constantly worrying what he's going to do next. I'm always checking over my shoulder because I do not feel safe.
"I had to put camera up in my house. I feel like I have failed my family and myself.
"For a long time I have not felt in control of my life, and though I tried to end the relationship I still feel he has control over me. I feel broken and a shadow of the person I used to be."
She told the court how she had been forced to give up several different jobs as Coddington 'did not want her working with men', which led to financial troubles. She was also diagnosed with PSTD, and was being treated for anxiety and depression.
Coddington, of Heathgate Avenue, Speke, denied controlling and coercive behaviour and common assault, but was found guilty following a trial last month. He was sentenced to three years in prison at Liverpool Crown Court on Tuesday (November 14), and given a restraining order banning him from contacting Claire for 10 years.
Following the sentence, she said: "I think now I have just got to try and rebuild my life. It has been an awful year. I have had to look over my shoulder all the time.
"For four days I was on the stand. When I heard the verdict, I cried. I wasn't there in person, I heard it over the phone. But I was inconsolable with relief.
"I'm just glad there's another abuser off the streets. I didn't even know about his previous (convictions).
"He had a job at Gulliver's World. Why would I assume he was dangerous?"
Coddington, who was described as 'controlling and cowardly', has four previous convictions for seven offences all relating to former girlfriends. In May 2015 he was convicted of two counts of assault causing actual bodily harm, and in May 2016 he was convicted of criminal damage, actual bodily harm and battery.
Judge Ian Harris said: "All your convictions relate to female partners. The probation officer describes you as having a history of abusive, violent behaviour within relationships, which she says stem from insecurity and low self esteem. She describes your history as a pattern of domestic abuse and violence.
"You have aggressive behaviour, poor decision making and an inability to control your emotions. I do not find that at the time you were suffering from any illness or disorder that affected your ability to make rational choices.
"The risk of serious harm to any female partner you are intimate with is high. You're a medium risk of harm to children if they witness any domestic violence or get caught in the crossfire."
Claire, who had no idea her boyfriend was a serial abuser until he turned on her, encouraged people to ask police about Clare’s Law, a a policy giving people the right to know if their current or ex-partner has a history of violence or abuse. She said: "If there's any doubt in your mind, go and get a Clare's Law, because if I had, I might not be in the position I'm in now."
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