Wistaston man jailed for rape and domestic abuse

A man from Wistaston has been jailed for eight years after he controlled and abused his former partner.

Timothy White, of Glaisdale Close, Wistaston, appeared at Chester Crown Court on Thursday 17 October, where he was sentenced to eight years in prison.

He will also be the subject of a four-year extended licence upon his release.

During his hearing, the court was told that between July 2021 and 2023, White subjected his former partner to sexual abuse and controlled her life, who she saw and spoke to.

The victim explained that White regularly demanded sex from her, threatening violence and smothering her with a pillow, if she refused - the victim was able to secretly record this threat which was later used as evidence against White in court.

Out of fear of being harmed, the victim felt she was left with no option but to engage in non-consensual sex with White. 

The abuse was not just physical, with White regularly emotionally abusing her; putting her down, criticising her appearance and calling her worthless.

White's victim was also subjected to having her life controlled, with the court hearing that he 'hounded' her if she ever left the house to see friends, needing his permission to see family - with White often attending with her - and regularly accusing her of cheating to the point where she felt she needed to hand her phone over to him to prove her innocence.

He also controlled when his partner slept, purposely depriving her of rest by tapping her awake every time she fell asleep.

In July of 2023, the victim left White and the relationship, to which he then began bombarding her with messages across multiple platforms, including social media, email, phone and text messages. White also started sending her bank transfers of a penny and using the payment reference to send her messages.

The couple had also planned a holiday together before the conclusion of their relationship and, in the following August, the victim spoke to White over the phone on one of the many occasions he called her. During the call, the 32-year-old threatened that, if she were to go away without him, he would burn her house down before she came back.

The victim decided to contact Cheshire Police following White's frequent contact and harassment, before disclosing the reports of rape and controlling and coercive behaviour.

Timothy White was subsequently arrested on 27 January 2024 and during his interview, denied any form of controlling behaviour, rape or harassment, claiming he was only contacting her so frequently to get back money he was owed.

Despite this, Timothy White pleaded guilty to rape, controlling and coercive behaviour and stalking and appeared at Chester Crown Court on Thursday 17 October, where he was sentenced to eight years imprisonment.

Detective Constable Caitlin Slatford, of CID Reactive East, said:

"Timothy White is a prolific abuser who completely controlled a woman's life for over two years by not allowing her to see her friends, controlling when she slept and abusing her for his own sexual gratification.

"White also regularly accused her of being unfaithful when, in fact, she had done nothing wrong.

"Thankfully now, due to his victim's courage in coming forward to disclose his horrific actions, he has been held accountable and will be spending the next eight years behind bars. Not only this, upon his release, he will be continually monitored for a further four years to prevent any reoffending.

"I would like to commend the victim's utmost bravery throughout this whole investigation and would like to encourage anyone who has been in a similar situation to get in touch - we will always act when it comes to cases of domestic abuse and we will do all we can to get you the justice you deserve."

If you, or someone you know, are a victim of domestic abuse please report it by calling 101 or visiting: 

www.cheshire.police.uk/tell-us

In an emergency always call 999.

Pictured - Timothy White of Glaisdale Close in Wistaston.