RAWTENSTALL: DANIEL BOWLER JAILED FOR VILE ABUSE OF PARTNER
A Rawtenstall man who sent sexually explicit videos of a woman to her family during a long and brutal period of abuse has been jailed.Daniel Bowler, 32, of Grange Terrace, appeared before Preston Crown Court to be sentenced for engaging in controlling coercive behaviour, two counts of assault, one count of sharing photos of someone in an intimate state, one count of strangulation, one count of suffocation and one count of harassment.
The offences took place over 13 months between February 2024 and March 2025, when the defendant was in a relationship with the victim.
Judge Graham Knowles said the defendant used “the whole repertoire” of ways men hold power over women in a relationship.
He said: “You didn’t have to do any of this, and you chose to do all of it, and you must be punished for it.” Reading out a victim impact statement, Judge Knowles said Bowler had broken her spirit and made her a shell of herself.
The court heard how the defendant quickly got into a relationship with the victim, moved into her home, and she fell pregnant.
By March, the defendant had begun showing signs of “baseless jealousy” and accused her of wanting to start a relationship with her ex-partner, who had contacted her regarding arrangements for looking after their son.
He had told the victim to join him in a pact to delete Facebook, which she did, only to later find out he had not removed the app, a ruse to prevent her from having contact with her friends.
In May, Bowler began sending her abusive messages while she was at a funeral.
Judge Knowles added: “Despicable in any circumstances, almost impossible to believe in those circumstances.” On one occasion, the victim threatened to call the police, and Bowler responded by smashing her phone.
Arguments continued, and in one, she threatened to call the police.
Bowler then kicked open the bedroom door where she was holding the baby, pushing her to the floor and blaming her.
He then proceeded to go through the victim’s phone and sent sexually explicit videos, many years old, to her family members to humiliate her.
Judge Knowles described this as behavior intended to cause great distress, noting that Bowler also sent images of an intimate nature to his own mother.
Following this, Bowler assaulted the victim by jumping on her and putting both hands around her neck.
He also held a razor blade to his own neck, threatening to kill himself.
As she tried to escape, he pulled her, ripping her clothing, and covered her mouth when she screamed for help.
After the incident, Bowler was arrested and released on bail with strict no-contact conditions.
However, he continued calling, emailing, and messaging her more than 100 times.
Passing sentence, Judge Knowles said: “You say you are a powder keg and the wrong woman could be a spark.
It is not about the wrong woman.
You are wrong here.
You are the wrong man.” Bowler was sentenced to five years' imprisonment.
