A brave woman from Hemel Hempstead who was subjected to obsessive, controlling, and protracted abuse by her ex-partner has been granted a 10-year restraining order at Huntingdon Crown Court on Thursday, February 26, to protect her from further harm.
Charlie Hill, 37, of no fixed abode from the Hemel Hempstead area, was also given a two-year custodial sentence suspended for two years, after pleading guilty to coercive and controlling behaviour between March 31, 2023, and June 10, 2024. He had previously spent a seven-month period in prison on remand.
Detective Constable Connor McCreadie from the Domestic Abuse Investigation and Safeguarding Unit says: “She found the courage to report her abuse in February 2025. She has been patient and supportive of our investigation, despite the crippling impact this was having on her and her young daughter. She is a hard-working, single mum who also had to endure cancer treatment while this was going on. When I called to tell her the news that the Crown Prosecution Service had agreed charges, she broke down in tears of joy expressing that she finally feels free. Ultimately, she refused to let the defendant win and take her liberty away from her.”
In her words: “I’m doing this for the safeguarding of any future women that could be on the receiving end of his type of behaviour, and to show my daughter that the police are here to protect us and that this behaviour is not acceptable from a man.”
The court heard that Hill’s jealousy escalated into dangerous and humiliating behaviour. He relentlessly checked where she was, accused her of being unfaithful, and created fake dating accounts in her name, including on swingers’ websites.
DC McCreadie said: “Posing as his partner, he approached men online saying that she was ‘well up for it’. A man approached her and gave her his number whilst she was on holiday; another man approached her at the gym making unwanted sexual comments before inappropriately touching her.”
Hill has also been given an electronic monitoring tag with an exclusion zone for two years and a Criminal Behaviour Order lasting two years in which he must provide any communication devices to police or probation immediately on request, is prohibited from purporting to be anybody but himself online, and prohibited from deleting any data. He is also required to complete 45 days of rehabilitation work, as well as pay a victim surcharge.
On passing sentence, Her Honour Judge Wigin noted: “You are a man who has a problem with harassing women… It stands out from coercive and controlling behaviour cases I have previously dealt with.” She added that this was “oneof the most sophisticated procedures of gaslighting I have known.”
DC McCreadie added: “Coercive and controlling behaviour can affect every part of your life and can lead to even more serious offences. We are here to help.”
You can report information online, speak to an operator in the Force Communications Room via the online web chat, or call the non-emergency number 101. You can also call the Herts Domestic Abuse Helpline on 08 088 088 088 or email.
Alternatively, you can stay 100% anonymous by contacting the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or via their untraceable online form.
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