Oxfordshire woman beaten by partner 'living in fear' of his early prison release

• ITV Meridian's Juliette Fletcher has been speaking to Suzanne Kavanagh

A woman from Oxfordshire who was beaten by her ex-boyfriend says she's living in fear of his early release from prison.

Suzanne Kavanagh was strangled and punched by Christopher Ecob who was sentenced to 27 months in jail.

But under the government's emergency release programme designed to reduce the prison population, he'll soon be free to leave.

Suzanne says she feels as if she is facing a life sentence and is a prisoner in her own home.

On two separate occasions, Suzanne called at Christopher Ecob's home to ask for the return of some money.

The first time he put his hands around her throat and the second, he lashed out.

Suzanne said: "All I saw was him coming and he went boom, punched me straight in the face. I went down. I believe from evidence from hospital that I was unconscious but I know he then punched me and punched me several more times."

The deception began early on. Ecob told Suzanne he was single and in the SAS. Both were untrue. In fact he was an agricultural engineer who started asking for money.

Suzanne said: "He said he wanted to get out of the SAS and that he wanted us to have a future together because all the time was being taken with that.

"He needed £16,000 to pay the tax on the pension he'd be getting from the SAS. Alarm bells were going but when you're in a coercive relationship, your mind goes away from that kind of thing."

After a trial at Oxford Crown Court, Ecob was sentenced to 27 months for strangulation, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and criminal damage.

But when he's served 10 months of his assault sentence, he'll be eligible for early release.

Suzanne added: "I had an email from the prison contact telling me that he was going to be out early, the week commencing 23rd December 2024, which scared me to death.

"I wanted to be away from here somewhere settled. I've become a recluse, I've been out five times in the last 13 months. I feel scared and nervous. I feel there is totally, totally no justice in it whatsoever.

"I am the one who is a victim and has a prison sentence, I am a prisoner in my own home."

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said:

“The new Government inherited a prison system on the point of collapse. It has been forced to introduce an emergency release programme to stop a crisis that would have overwhelmed the criminal justice system, meaning we would no longer be able to lock up dangerous criminals and protect the public."

They added that offenders are given strict conditions on their release and if broken, will be returned to prison.

Suzanne lost her job due to the impact this has had on her health and fears for the future. She's set up a petition calling for the government to stop the early release of Christopher Ecob.

She hopes that by speaking out, she'll encourage other victims of domestic abuse to do the same.

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