Violent abuser from Rochester jailed

A violent abuser from Rochester who tried to escape justice by hiding in a fridge has been jailed.

Dean Foord was arrested after his victim reported the mental and physical abuse she had endured over 6 months.

During this period, he controlled her social media accounts and made her cut contact with friends and family members. She was only allowed to leave the house when Foord permitted her to.

On one occasion, he locked her in a room and would only let her out after making her bark like a dog.

He spent all of her money on gambling, drugs, alcohol and scratch cards.

She was not allowed to have a phone and, whenever she did, Foord would deliberately damage any phone she had. He even forced her to sell a phone to pay off his drug debt.

He was also violent towards her. On one occasion, he dragged her by the neck, pushed her to the floor and banged her head into the ground.

On another occasion, when the victim tried to escape, he followed her to a property and threw a brick through a window, putting the homeowner in fear for her life.

He also filmed himself threatening the victim with a knife, saying he was going to kill her. On another occasion, he threw a bucket of dirty water over her.

Arrest

The 33 year old, of Brooker Close, Rochester, was arrested in December 2025 and, during a search, officers found him in possession of cocaine.

He was later charged, and following a trial found guilty of actual bodily harm, criminal damage, threats to kill, common assault, controlling and coercive behaviour, and possession of a class A drug.

At Maidstone Crown Court on Tuesday 30 June, he was jailed for 3 years.

Investigating officer Police Constable George Fisher said: 'Foord is a violent bully who used fear, violence and intimidation to control almost every aspect of the victim's life.  'He tried to hide from officers in a fridge, but there are no hiding places. This shows that we will track offenders down and bring them to justice.  'I also commend the victim for the courage she has shown in coming forward and helping to secure this conviction.'