AssetID: 55729255
Headline: "The cameras saved my life": CCTV in home captures shocking domestic abuse against young mum
Caption: Shocking video of a terrified mum being punched, kicked, spat at and dragged by her hair inside her own home have helped convict her violent abuser. The CCTV clips captured Spencer Dean repeatedly attacking his partner, who we are calling Marie to protect her identity, during months of abuse at the property in Ashford, Kent. One video showed Dean punching her so hard she fell backwards onto a sofa before he struck her again. Others showed him throwing objects, forcing her onto a bed and telling her he “hopes she dies”. Marie says the cameras - originally installed for reasons linked to her children - ultimately saved her. Officers only uncovered the abuse after attending the property and finding cannabis plants Dean had been growing in the loft, leading them to review the disturbing footage recorded inside the home. The abuse came to light after Marie secretly texted a neighbour asking them to call police because she had reached the “end of her tether”. Officers arrived at the house on March 29 and found her with a cut and bruising beneath her eye before reviewing months of CCTV footage. The clips showed 34-year-old Dean launching repeated attacks on the mum of two. In one incident, he was seen grabbing her by the hair and dragging her around a room. Other footage showed him spitting at her, shouting abuse and throwing objects around the house. “The CCTV was put in before the relationship started for reasons relating to my children, but they were what saved me in the end,” Marie said. The relationship began well before Dean’s jealousy spiralled into controlling behaviour. “The control started slowly, with me being removed off all social media,” she said. “If I wanted to see family, I would be made to feel guilty. “He caused arguments between friends until the only time I socialised was when I went to do some cleaning or the school run.” Marie said she became too frightened to ask Dean to leave when her children were at home because violence would often follow. “Sometimes he would just abuse me verbally, but if I ever asked him to leave that’s when I would get hurt, so I learned to never tell him to leave when my kids were here, so they didn’t have to listen or witness any of it,” she said. “Emotionally, I’m broken, I’m confused, I hate myself - and I hate what my kids are going through because of all of this.” Marie says Dean used his small cannabis operation in the loft to stop her reporting his abuse to police. “I was told if they found the grow I would lose my kids, because it’s my house, so I had to shut up and put up,” she said. “I had to make out everything was fine, and it wasn’t what it seemed, because I wasn’t losing my kids over it.” But when officers discovered the cannabis plants during the March visit, she realised she could no longer stay silent. “I knew in that moment I had to show them, for help,” she said. “I didn’t want to get him in trouble, but I was so scared of what was going to happen next time.” Dean, a roofer of no fixed address, admitted three counts of assault by beating, two counts of criminal damage and one count of cultivating cannabis. He admitted the offences in court last month and appeared for sentencing via videolink from HMP Elmley on May 12. Prosecutor Dylan Bradshaw told magistrates the case was unusual because the abuse had been uncovered through cameras installed inside the property for safeguarding purposes. He added that the victim “never called the police when something was going on”, but had reached out to a neighbour on March 29. Margate Magistrates’ Court heard Dean had damaged fixtures inside the house during angry outbursts and carried out assaults over a period of months, sometimes while children were nearby. “On October 10, [last year] in the kitchen, he spat on her and kicked her,” Mr Bradshaw said. Further clips on October 23 and October 27 showed Dean kicking Marie, shouting at her and behaving aggressively. The prosecutor said: “I am asking for a restraining order as she was in her property and should have been safe, and her children were in the vicinity when some of the incidents happened.” Ian Bond, defending, said the relationship had become “toxic” and said Dean was remorseful. He also highlighted that Dean had no history of domestic violence and only one unrelated previous conviction from 2019. He added that Dean had already spent 42 days in custody, which was equivalent to a 12-week prison sentence. “The relationship went wrong and became toxic, and for five and a half months the toxic relationship persisted, and there were three offences of assault,” he said. “I have to concede it was persistent behaviour. “The offences don’t reach the custody threshold, but there is a helpful report about what’s gone on, and he’s genuinely remorseful. “He wants to rewind time and act in a different manner, but I would urge you to follow the recommendation in the report of a community order. “He’s got family support and will return to live with his family in Torquay.” Magistrates, who were not shown clips of the abuse, followed the advice of probation officers and spared Dean jail. He was instead placed on a 12-month community order requiring him to complete 180 hours of unpaid work, 30 rehabilitation sessions and a six-month drug rehabilitation programme. He was also banned from contacting Marie or going near her Ashford home for two years. Now recovering from the abuse, Marie, who was “shocked” to learn Dean had not been sent to prison, says she wants other victims to know they can escape. “If you are going through this, no matter what they say or hold against you, you can get out,” she said. “Everything was always ‘my fault’, and I want other victims to know it’s never your fault. No matter what you do or say, it won’t be the right thing, but it never means it’s you. “They know what they are doing, so you’ll never win. “Seek help, get as much evidence as you can, because once you have the evidence and the proof it makes it easier, but please do it safely and have someone who knows what’s going on. “I was so scared to lose my kids so I stayed, but I didn’t lose them and now we’re slowly healing.”
Keywords:
PersonInImage: