Stephen Rooney has been convicted of battering three of his ex-girlfriends but now claims to be a ‘changed man’
Stephen Rooney, of Wynnstay Avenue in Lydiate, aged 36
A couple’s holiday to Turkey ended in a slew of violence after a serial domestic abuser cruelly stripped his girlfriend naked and pushed her out of their hotel room. Stephen Rooney “resorted to emotional blackmail” in order to convince his then partner to embark upon the trip in the first place, having previously left her with burns when he squirted a bottle of nitrous oxide in her face and threatened another man with a broken vodka bottle in a fit of rage.
Once abroad, she was then forced to seek help from other guests while in a state of undress due to his appalling actions before the thug twice subjected her to savage beatings, one of which was so severe that it caused her to pass out. He has now been convicted of battering three of his ex-girlfriends, with his “manipulative” behaviour causing a judge to remain unconvinced by his apparent newfound remorse.
A trial at Liverpool Crown Court heard that Rooney, of Wynnstay Avenue in Lydiate, began a relationship with his victim, who the ECHO has chosen not to name, in May 2025. However, the 36-year-old was said to have become “possessive and physically violent towards her” within a matter of months.
This led to an incident on July 5 last year, when the couple had been drinking and inhaling nitrous oxide at their home. While sitting in the kitchen, Rooney then sprayed her in the face with the bottle of NOS “for no apparent reason”, causing a burn to her forehead.
When they were staying at a lodge in Scotland four days later, the defendant became aggressive after again drinking and taking drugs, after which he pulled her from her chair and began kicking her on the floor. He went on to squeeze her neck with his hands for a period of approximately five to 20 seconds, leaving her fearing that he was trying to kill her, after which he added insult to injury by throwing her clothes from a balcony.
On July 21, she was then at a friend’s house prior to a planned night out when Rooney attended 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 removed from the property by her and her friends and briefly drove away in his car, although he later returned and began banging on the door before he “became even angrier” when the brother of one of the other women arrived. This led to him smashing a bottle of vodka and attempting to stab the other man with the broken glass.
With the complainant having been left understandably concerned over his behaviour, Rooney sought to persuade her to go on a pre-booked holiday to Turkey by telling her that his seven-year-old daughter would have “no one to go in the swimming pool with” as he had sustained an injury to his leg, as well buying them new clothing for the trip. However, once abroad, he then took her phone from her and locked it in a safe.
Following another drink and drugs binge, Rooney subsequently “stripped her of her clothes and pushed her out of the hotel room”, forcing her to seek help from strangers. Later during the trip, he went on to slap and punch her before grabbing her to the head and pinning her against a wall until she lost consciousness.
On another occasion, Rooney again punched and slapped her before putting his finger in her mouth and “fish hooking” her, causing a cut to her mouth. But she was ultimately able to flee from his clutches and flew home alone.
Nick Cockrell, prosecuting, read a statement to the court on her behalf this afternoon, Tuesday, in which she said: “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 one former partner in 2015. He then received a suspended prison sentence in 2016 for battery against this same victim, having repeatedly hit and strangled her.
During 2017 and 2018, Rooney then committed a total of six offences, including controlling and coercive behaviour, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and perverting the course of justice, against another ex-girlfriend. This saw him slap, punch, bite and strangle her, as well as placing a pillow over her head, pulling her hair while she was holding the couple’s daughter and sending her a letter from prison pressurising her to withdraw her complaint.
This led to him receiving a total of 42 months behind bars. Gerry Baxter, defending, said 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 found guilty of three counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, intentional strangulation, making threats with an offensive weapon and criminal damage by a jury. Appearing via video link to HMP Liverpool, he was seen with his head bowed at times during the hearing before being jailed for six years and handed an additional year on extended licence, as well as a 12-year restraining order.
Sentencing, Judge Gary Woodhall said: “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.”