Adam Edward Eric Curtis, aged 39, of Poole, Dorset, has been sentenced to seven and a half years’ imprisonment at Winchester Crown Court after being convicted of an 11-year campaign of domestic abuse, physical violence, and sexual assault against a woman.
The prosecution arose after the victim approached Dorset Police to disclose the extensive history of abusive behaviour inflicted upon her over more than a decade.
The court heard that Curtis systematically exerted coercive control over the victim’s life.
Curtis strictly monitored and restricted her movements, confiscated her mobile phone to ensure she could not contact emergency services, and locked her inside her residential address.
He frequently threatened to destroy her personal possessions to cause distress, threatened her with weapons including knives and lighters, and made persistent, harassing telephone calls whenever she left the address without him.
Curtis also repeatedly threatened to kill her dogs.
The abuse included severe physical violence, with the prosecution detailing an incident in which Curtis repeatedly punched, kicked, and stomped on the victim.
He additionally subjected her to sexual assault by penetration.
Following the disclosure, detectives from Bournemouth, Christchurch, and Poole (BCP) CID launched an investigation to secure corroborating evidence.
Curtis pleaded not guilty, but following a Crown Court trial where the survivor gave evidence from the witness box, a jury convicted him of:
- Controlling and coercive behaviour
- Sexual assault by penetration
- Assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH)
Speaking after the sentencing, Detective Constable Jack Gibson of BCP CID praised the victim’s fortitude: “I do not for a moment underestimate the strength it would have taken for this victim to come forward and report the campaign of controlling behaviour, violence and sexual abuse she was subjected to at the hands of this defendant. She has shown immense courage to come forward and disclose these offences, as well as to support our subsequent investigation and the court process.”
On Tuesday, 1 September 2026, the court handed Curtis an immediate custodial sentence of seven and a half years (90 months).
The judge also ordered that Curtis comply with the notification requirements of the Sex Offenders Register for life.
Release Calculation: Under UK sentencing legislation governing determinate sentences of seven years or more for serious sexual offences, statutory release at the halfway mark does not apply. Curtis is required to serve a mandatory minimum of two-thirds (60 months / five years) of his seven-and-a-half-year sentence in prison custody before becoming eligible to apply for statutory release on licence. Upon release, he will remain subject to strict licence conditions and probation supervision in the community for the remaining two years and six months of his sentence.
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