'His ability to switch from a loving partner to a monster kept me in a permanent state of stress'

'Michelle', a victim of coercive control, tells Yvonne Roberts how she is still recovering after seven years of hell with an abusive partner. Why then was he jailed for just 30 months?

- Yvonne Roberts

Robert Rawson, 62, appeared at Liverpool crown court last month to plead guilty to charges of controlling and coercive behaviour and perverting the course of justice.

In a harrowing impact statement, his victim, "Michelle" told the court that during their seven-year relationship, Rawson had put a tracking app on her car and phone, sending her dozens of texts and messages daily.

Rawson, who formerly worked in police support, including as a senior crime scene investigator for West Yorkshire police, would regularly humiliate Michelle by "arresting" her outside supermarkets in uniform, twisting her arm behind her back. He would also pull down her underwear and undo her bra in public.

Rawson "made me feel like a slave", Michelle told the court. "I have lost my ability to make decisions and I don't trust anyone."

Rawson had originally pleaded not guilty to both charges and another one of rape. On a plea bargain, the latter charge was dropped. He was sentenced to 30 months in custody for coercive control and eight months to run concurrently for perverting the course of justice.

He had "bombarded" Michelle with messages while on bail, demanding that she retract her statement.

Michelle, 61, whose name has been changed to protect her identity, is a housing manager in charge of a team of 14. She began a relationship with Rawson in 2017 when she had been divorced for 10 years.

"I was happily leading a good life with my two daughters," she said.

The day before Rawson appeared in court, she emailed me to ask if I would write about what had happened to her. She eloquently detailed his micromanagement of her everyday life. Without her consent, and to her horror, Rawson confessed that he had sent intimate photographs of her to a swingers' website in which she was identifiable.