The couple’s children were left in tears, screaming and begging with their father to stop as he viciously attacked her in the street
A mum says her daughter has been left asking “why is daddy mean?” after he attacked her in front of their children during the school run. Thomas Dean issued a menacing threat to his ex-girlfriend from behind bars, then followed through on his chilling promise exactly a year later.
The couple’s kids were left in tears, screaming and begging with their dad to stop attacking their mother as he threw a mug at her then punched and kicked her as she lay helpless on the ground. The assault was only halted when other parents came rushing to her aid.
Liverpool Crown Court heard this week that Dean was previously in a relationship with his victim, who the ECHO has chosen not to name, for around 16 years, with the couple having two children together before splitting up in 2021. While subsequently serving a prison sentence, the 36-year-old would email his ex on November 7 2023 telling her: “You know what? I f***ing hate what you’ve done and I will see you when they release me.”
Nardeen Nemat, prosecuting, described how the defendant, of no fixed address, was then freed from jail in September 2024. Two months later, on November 7 2024, his estranged partner was walking the kids, who were then aged six and three, to school along Shaw Lane in Prescot when the youngsters spotted their dad sitting in the passenger’s seat of their grandad’s van near to Dunne’s News.
They reacted by running over to the window and “jumping and waving” at their father. But Dean then got out of the vehicle and “launched a mug” at the complainant before running over to her, knocking his son, the younger of the two children, over in the process.
He thereafter went on to punch and kick the victim before dragging her to the ground and continuing to rain down blows to her upper body and face with his fists and feet. She was captured on CCTV footage asking him “what are you doing?” as he attacked her while the boy and girl “screamed and pleaded” for him to stop while attempting to come to the aid of their mum, who suffered injuries including fractures to her nose and wrist.
His assault only stopped when other parents came to her aid and Dean’s father escorted him back to the van. He then attempted to leave the vehicle once more when the complainant got up from the ground, but was prevented from doing so by his dad while shouting “body bag”.
In a statement which was read out to the court on her behalf, the victim reported that she had since been taken to hospital twice due to severe panic attacks and said: “At the time, I thought I was having a heart attack and felt I was going to die. I’ve now started to see Tom’s face, which gives me nightmares every night.
“I don’t trust anyone. I don’t want to leave the house in case I get hurt. I have constant bad thoughts and worry they’re going to come true. I recently went to a boxing event with my family and then to Starbucks. I asked to sit in the corner due to paranoia that someone would start shooting into the shop.
“The impact on my two children has been massive. [My daughter] has completely changed since the incident. At first, she was having nightmares. She used to idolise her dad, but, since the incident, she has thrown everything away which reminds her of him. She asks me ‘why is daddy mean?’. I’ve had to explain to her that, through alcohol and bad choices, daddy has turned naughty.
“This has all been caused by a person I never thought would hurt me. I’ve been with Tom for 16 years, and he has been my only boyfriend. It’s scary how quickly someone can change, and I fear for when he will be released from prison.
“I continue to feel sad all the time from the incident and the fact that he’s left my kids without a dad and traumatised us all. This is the first time he’s laid hands on me. I never thought he would. The next time, I may not be in public and I may not be so lucky.”
Dean has a total of 18 previous convictions for 48 offences, including three entries for assault occasioning actual bodily harm and a “heavy record” for drug and driving offences. The ECHO previously reported in 2023 that he was handed 24 weeks for punching a prison guard in the face while serving time in a segregation unit at HMP Liverpool, leaving him scarred and requiring stitches.
It came after he had been escorted to the showers at Walton prison on July 29 2022 and was being taken back to his cell by three members of staff, one of whom asked him “if he needed a towel”. Christopher Taylor, appearing for the prosecution on this occasion, detailed how Dean responded by saying “what?”, at which the worker repeated himself.
He then swung his left fist at the officer, hitting him on the right hand side of his mouth and leaving him requiring seven stitches and with a scar. The prisoner was then restrained and taken to the floor before being carried back to his quarters.
Charles Lander, defending, told the court that his client was a roofer by trade but had been left blind in his left eye, having been attacked by another inmate after he was moved to HMP Manchester. Representing Dean once more during his latest appearance, he added: “This was a chance encounter. He was in his father’s van because he was going to work with his father. Clearly, when he did see her, everything speaks for itself on that video.”
Dean admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm and assault. Appearing in the dock wearing a grey prison issue tracksuit and sporting long dark hair and a beard on Wednesday, he was jailed for a further 32 months and handed restraining orders banning him from contacting his former partner and children indefinitely.
He was heard to say “get me out of here” as he was led to the cells while the members of the victim’s family remarked “disgusting” as they left the public gallery. Sentencing, Judge Garrett Byrne said: “This is clearly a very serious matter.
“Your behaviour was truly shocking and appalling. Having knocked [the boy] to the ground, you punched and kicked [victim] to the floor where you continued to punch and kick her.
“Witnesses who were unfortunate enough to witness this were clearly shocked by what they saw. You have a bad record. You have no compelling mitigation whatsoever, so far as I can see.”
