Man who raped and assaulted his partner is jailed for 13 years

A 40-year-old man who raped and repeatedly assaulted his partner during their relationship has been jailed for 13 years.

At a trial at Northampton Crown Court just before Christmas last year, Dean Michael Hutchison, previously of Corby, denied all eight of the charges against him.

During the trial, the court heard how Hutchison had assaulted the woman on a number of occasions - punching her, throwing her to the floor, and on one occasion, strangling her to the point of unconsciousness.

During one of the assaults, he told the woman he was going to get a knife from the kitchen in order to kill her, returning with a rolling pin instead and beating her so badly that she had to take eight weeks off work.

Hutchison would also demand sex on numerous occasions during their relationship and on three occasions, raped her when she said no.

During one of the rapes, he told her that it was not possible that he could rape her because they were in a relationship.

Throughout their time together, he also controlled the woman by taking her phone or removing the Wi-Fi connection, and locking her in his flat for up to a week at a time.

With the support of her friends, the woman bravely contacted police about the abuse and Hutchison was eventually charged with three counts of rape, two counts of intentional strangulation, two counts of actual bodily harm and one count of engaging in controlling/coercive behaviour.

At the end of the trial last year, he was convicted on all counts by the jury, returning to the same court last week (February 9), where he was handed a custodial sentence of 13 years with an extended license of five years.

Lead investigator - Detective Constable Grace Burman from Northamptonshire Police’s Domestic Abuse Investigation Unit, said: “I am so pleased for this woman that her abuser has been sent to prison for such a long time.

“She has shown incredible strength throughout the court process, standing up and giving evidence against Hutchison for more than five hours at the trial and waiving her anonymity to take part in an interview with the local paper afterwards to try and raise awareness of this type of crime and encourage others to come forward.

“Her bravery and courage is to be admired and I hope that this result provides her with some semblance of justice.

“Dean Hutchison is a danger to anyone who gets into a relationship with him and I hope this result demonstrates our continuing determination at Northamptonshire Police to tackle violence against women and girls and to put people like him behind bars.

“I also want to make the point that rape can and does occur in relationships and that anyone who tells you otherwise is wrong.”

*This report has been published with the agreement of the survivor*

If you have a Dean Hutchison in your life, please come forward so we can help you.

You deserve better.

We will believe you.

If you have been a victim of domestic violence or sexual abuse, whether recent or non-recent, please come forward by calling 101 or via the online reporting tool at www.northants.police.uk.

If you have been a victim of rape or sexual abuse, but are not yet ready to speak to the police, please visit www.nhft.nhs.uk/serenity or call Serenity on 01604 601713.

Serenity provides free, confidential 24/7 support.

You can also visit www.voicenorthants.org or call Voice on 0300 303 1965.

Voice is a support service for anyone living in Northamptonshire, regardless of when, where or how crime happened to you. Services are free, confidential and you don’t have to have reported anything to the police.