Stephen Rooney has been convicted of offences against three former partners, with his “manipulative” behaviour causing a judge to remain unconvinced by his apparent newfound remorse after he was jailed for six years
A couple’s getaway to Turkey descended into horrific violence after a serial domestic abuser callously forced his girlfriend to strip naked before shoving her from their hotel room.
Stephen Rooney had “resorted to emotional blackmail” to persuade his then partner to join him on the trip initially, having already left her with burns when he sprayed a canister of nitrous oxide directly at her face and menaced another man with a smashed vodka bottle during a violent outburst.
While overseas, she was then compelled to seek assistance from fellow holidaymakers while completely unclothed following his despicable conduct, before the brute twice inflicted brutal assaults upon her — one so ferocious it rendered her unconscious. He has now been found guilty of attacking three former girlfriends, with his “manipulative” conduct leaving a judge unconvinced by his supposed newfound contrition.
Liverpool Crown Court was told that Rooney, of Wynnstay Avenue in Lydiate, entered into a relationship with his victim in May 2025. Yet the 36-year-old, who now claims to be a changed man, was said to have turned “possessive and physically violent towards her” within mere months.
This culminated in an incident on July 5 last year, when the pair had been drinking and inhaling nitrous oxide at their residence. While seated in the kitchen, Rooney then blasted her in the face with the NOS canister “for no apparent reason”, inflicting a burn to her forehead.
While staying at a lodge in Scotland four days later, the defendant turned violent after once again consuming alcohol and drugs. He yanked her from her chair and began kicking her on the floor, reports the Liverpool Echo.
He then proceeded to strangle her with his hands for an estimated five to 20 seconds, leaving her terrified that he was attempting to murder her. To add insult to injury, he then tossed her clothes from a balcony.
On July 21, she was at a friend’s house preparing for a night out when Rooney showed up at the address and “insisted on wanting to talk to her on her own”. He demanded her mobile phone before smashing the device “in temper” on a table.
Rooney was subsequently ejected from the property by her and her friends. He briefly drove away in his car, but later returned and started banging on the door.
He “became even angrier” when the brother of one of the other women arrived. This led to him shattering a bottle of vodka and trying to stab the other man with the broken glass.
Understandably worried by his behaviour, Rooney tried to convince her to accompany him on a pre-booked holiday to Turkey. He told her that his seven-year-old daughter would have “no one to go in the swimming pool with” as he had injured his leg, and even bought them new clothing for the trip.
However, once they were abroad, he took her phone from her and locked it in a safe.
Following another bout of excessive drinking and drug use, Rooney allegedly “stripped her of her clothes and pushed her out of the hotel room”, leaving her to seek assistance from strangers.
Later on during the trip, he reportedly slapped and punched her before grabbing her by the head and pinning her against a wall until she passed out.
On a separate occasion, Rooney is said to have again punched and slapped her before inserting his finger in her mouth and “fish hooking” her, resulting in a cut to her mouth. However, she was ultimately able to escape his grasp and returned home alone.
Nick Cockrell, the prosecutor, read a statement to the court on her behalf this afternoon (July 28) in which she stated: “The abuse I’ve experienced has deeply affected every part of my life. What happened in that short period of time left lasting emotional scars and anxiety I still have to work through to this day. I’ve had to rebuild my life piece by piece.”
Rooney has 16 previous convictions for 40 offences, including an assault in Spain against a former partner in 2015. He subsequently received a suspended prison sentence in 2016 for battery against the same victim, having repeatedly struck and strangled her.
During 2017 and 2018, Rooney committed a total of six offences against another former girlfriend, including controlling and coercive behaviour, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and perverting the course of justice. His actions included slapping, punching, biting and strangling her, as well as smothering her with a pillow, yanking her hair while she held their daughter, and sending her a letter from prison pressuring her to retract her complaint.
This resulted in him being sentenced to a total of 42 months in prison.
Gerry Baxter, defending, spoke on his behalf today: “The life that he was living involved a lot of drugs. There has been something of a change in this man. He has been telling me about the various courses that he has been taking while in prison. They include a mentoring course, a personal development course, a leadership and management course in respect of football and a food hygiene course.
“He is expecting that those courses will help him to find employment afterwards. He has not just been sitting in his cell trying to think of a way that he might be able reduce his sentence by pulling the wool over your honour’s eyes. He has no intention of going back to the previous relationships. He does seem to be trying to turn his life around.”
Rooney was convicted by a jury of three counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, intentional strangulation, making threats with an offensive weapon and criminal damage. Speaking via video link from HMP Liverpool, he was observed with his head lowered during portions of the proceedings before receiving a six-year prison sentence plus an additional year on extended licence, alongside a 12-year restraining order.
During sentencing, Judge Gary Woodhall stated: “Although she described the relationship as good to begin with, within a couple of months you became possessive and physically violent towards her. It is clear that she was doing everything she could to put distance between you both. She harboured real concerns about what harm you may cause her.
“You resorted to emotional blackmail to persuade her to go on a pre-booked holiday to Turkey with you and your daughter. It is clear that you behaved in a controlling manner towards her, limiting contact with her family at home.
“Since your arrest, you have embarked on a campaign to smear her character in an attempt to undermine her as a witness. The jury clearly saw through your attempts. She described how your behaviour has affected her sense of safety, confidence and ability to trust others.
“She was clearly impacted emotionally by what you have done and the way you conducted your defence. I also had the benefit of seeing your ex-partner giving evidence. Her fear of you as a previous victim of domestic abuse at your hands was palpable, despite the passage of time.
“There is a clear pattern of violent behaviour against partners, [victim’s name] being the third such victim of your violent behaviour. You maintain that the trial process has now caused you to recognise your violent behaviour and say that your previous denials were borne out of shame and denial.
“I harbour real concerns that your apparent admissions are genuine. They are at complete odds with the way that you conducted yourself during the trial and your reaction when the jury returned its verdicts. I am satisfied that you sought to manipulate the trial process, and I am concerned your admissions are a further attempt to manipulate the sentencing process.
“You seek to minimise your actions by blaming drink and drugs. You will need to show over time that your remorse is genuine, rather than perhaps a reaction to facing sentence. There is very limited mitigation, which flows, presently, from the courses you have embarked upon in prison.”
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