A 40-year-old man with a history of domestic violence against his former partner has been sentenced to four and a half years’ imprisonment at Teesside Crown Court after subjecting her to a relentless campaign of controlling behaviour and stalking.
Daniel Grainger appeared for sentence after entering guilty pleas on the opening day of his scheduled Crown Court trial to offences of controlling or coercive behaviour and stalking.
The court was told that the couple had been in a relationship spanning 15 years, having met when the complainant was 17 years old. The court heard Grainger had previously been convicted of battery against the victim in 2011, yet his abusive conduct escalated significantly over the final five years of the partnership.
Prosecutors outlined how Grainger used intimidation and control to dictate the victim’s daily routine, determining what clothing she could wear, cutting off her contact with family and friends, and monitoring her communications. The behaviour was routinely intensified by multi-day binges involving alcohol and cocaine, accompanied by paranoia and false accusations of infidelity.
The harassment persisted after the relationship concluded in 2025. Grainger initiated a pattern of stalking, repeatedly attending her private residence and bombarding her with threatening telephone calls and electronic messages. In victim impact evidence, the woman explained she spent years living in terror that Grainger would end her life, detailing incidents of severe criminal damage to her property, including shattered car glass and attempts to set fire to her house.
Giving evidence from behind protective court screens, the survivor addressed the defendant directly, stating: “Today is the last day I stand here as your victim.”
Under the provisions of the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1992 and Section 49 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933, protected complainants, victims of sexual violence, or children connected to criminal proceedings are entitled to automatic, lifelong statutory anonymity. Publishing, broadcasting, or disseminating any details, names, addresses, or photographs capable of leading to the public identification of protected parties is strictly prohibited under UK law.
Grainger entered guilty pleas to:
Controlling or coercive behaviour in an intimate or family relationship
Stalking involving fear of violence or serious alarm or distress
Sentencing Grainger, Recorder Paul Reid praised the survivor’s bravery in facing the court and observed that Grainger exhibited no remorse, shame, or acceptance of his conduct, preferring instead to deflect blame onto the victim. Recorder Reid characterised the offending as among the most egregious examples of coercive control to come before the court.
The judge imposed an immediate custodial sentence of four years and six months’ imprisonment. Under statutory provisions for determinate sentences, Grainger will serve up to 50 per cent of the term in closed prison conditions before becoming eligible for release on conditional licence under the supervision of the Probation Service.
Alongside the prison sentence, the court ordered:
An indefinite restraining order prohibiting Grainger from contacting the survivor directly or indirectly, or approaching her home
Image – Anonymous Artist Impression
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