‘Jealous’ Leeds thug who treated partner ‘like his property’ tried to bribe her to drop police charges

Liam Rogan triggered the argument after accusing his girlfriend of flirting with a taxi driver and then when she tried to have a bath to halt the arguing, he said: “Why are you washing yourself? Is it because you had sex with another man?”

Leeds Crown Court heard that the 28-year-old had been friends with the woman before they became intimate, but the relationship “became sour” prosecutor Allan Armbrister said.

He said the victim said Rogan treated her “like his property”. The argument broke out at the woman’s flat on Lea Farm Place in Hawksworth on November 21 last year. After quizzing her about the bath, he then picked up a screwdriver and said he would kill her pet.

Eventually, he left the property but returned a short time later and threw bricks and rocks at the flat from outside. She came to see him and he grabbed her and dragged her down the stairs. He then put her in an arm lock and said: “I’m going to snap your arm, then your neck.” He also trashed the garden, throwing furniture around.

After being arrested, he was questioned and released on bail, with a condition that he stayed away from the woman. But Rogan went straight back to her home claiming he wanted his belongings, then refused to leave.

He offered her the money to drop the charges, but she refused, telling him it was over. Rogan then put her in a choke hold and warned her there “would be consequences” if she didn’t retract her statement. He was later arrested again.

He admitted intentional strangulation, criminal damage and ABH. Mitigating, Michael Walsh said: “He is realistic that immediate custody is at he forefront.”

He said that Rogan had been held on remand in HMP Leeds for more than two-and-a-half months, and has no intention of contacting the victim again, accepting that it is was over.

Judge Christopher Batty jailed him for 21 months and gave him a restraining order of indefinite length. He told him: “You lost self control on those occasions. She did not how far it was going to go.”