Man who beat, raped and coercively controlled Donegal woman has appeal rejected

A criminal who assaulted, raped and coercively controlled his partner during a six-week relationship in which she endured “violence and extreme degradation”, will remain in prison after a court rejected his appeal against conviction.

Dean Ward (38), also known as Dean Alexander Fowkes, used a different name on first meeting his victim, Sinéad O'Neill, through an online dating website.

He was convicted following a trial in June 2022 of twelve offences; four assaults, one false imprisonment, one making a threat to kill, two counts of production of articles, three counts of rape and one count of coercive control on dates between June 11 and July 17, 2019. Ward, who was jailed for 17 years, does not accept the verdict of the jury and continues to maintain his innocence.

Ward, formerly of Ballintlea, Hollyfort, Gorey, Wexford was also jailed in 2016 for four years for falsely imprisoning and assaulting a young mother in November 2015. 

In that case, Ward and that woman had met on the internet dating website Plenty of Fish and Ward attacked her on their third date in the woman's own home.

Shortly after Ward and Ms O'Neill met in May 2019, Ward effectively moved himself into her home in Killybegs, Co Donegal.

During the next six weeks Ward repeatedly attacked Ms O'Neill, spraying mace into her face, tying her up, choking her and then raping her, threatening her with a hammer and punching her in the face. 

He controlled her access to friends and family, took over her online banking and monitored her whereabouts, social media and mobile phone use and removed her contraceptive device as she slept.

Ward has nine previous convictions in this jurisdiction, including a prior conviction for assaulting and falsely imprisoning another woman during a relationship in 2015.

Ward appealed his conviction, arguing evidence given by Ms O'Neill that he had previously tried to kill her and references to him “moving money” between her bank accounts was prejudicial. 

He also claimed her testimony about the effect Ward's abuse had on her should not have been admitted.

Dismissing Ward’s appeal against his conviction on Friday, Mr Justice John Edwards said the victim’s evidence of believing that Ward had made previous attempts to kill her, of being in fear on that account, and as to how she was affected by that fear was all properly in the case. 

He said the jury were entitled to receive it and make of it what they would.

He said the evidence was both “relevant” and “potentially probative” and found the trial judge was correct not to discharge the jury following applications by the defence. 

Passing sentence at the Central Criminal Court in July 2022, Mr Justice Kerida Naidoo set a headline sentence of 18 years. He said there was virtually no mitigation, but he suspended one year on condition that Ward obey the instructions of the Probation Service after his release.

At Ward’s sentence hearing, Ms O'Neill told the court she had led a quiet, happy life and had wanted someone to share it with.

“It only took him six weeks to destroy me,” she said. She described how she had previously just wanted to be happy, but now just wanted a life without fear.

Her ordeal only came to an end when Ms O'Neill's boss realised something was wrong and spoke to her and advised her to go to gardai.

Mr Justice Naidoo said that such was Ward's level of control that they had to come up with an escape plan to get her out of the house long enough for armed gardai to move in and arrest Ward. 

Ward tried to get away but was caught jumping over a back wall while carrying a can of incapacitant spray. Mr Justice Naidoo said the first offence of rape was aggravated by violence and extreme degradation. After a row, Ward had broken into Ms O'Neill's home, punched her in the face and told her he was going to kill her.

He took her upstairs and pulled out a knife which he used to cut a towel into shreds. He then used the shreds to tie her up and began choking her from behind. Justice Naidoo said Ms O'Neill believed she was going to die and she lost control of her bladder.

Ward knew she had a particular fear of drowning and said he would do this. The woman's terror at this prospect was so great that she offered to take her own life by slitting her wrists, the judge said. Ward then raped her.

At an appeal hearing last May, Thomas O’Malley SC, representing Ward, argued that his trial jury was prejudiced by his victim giving evidence “twice in quick succession” that he previously tried to kill her.

Counsel said that references made in the prosecution’s closing speech to Ward “moving money” between Ms O’Neill’s bank accounts invited the jury to speculate and consider allegations that were not made out in the evidence.  Mr O’Malley also contended the judge had made an error in admitting evidence of the impact of the offences on Ms O’Neill, which was given during her direct evidence.

In dismissing the appeal today, Mr Justice Edwards said the court was satisfied that the evidence led about Ward’s alleged coercive controlling behaviour, including the full context in which it occurred, and the extent of the effects it had on Ms O’Neill was “entirely relevant, probative and necessary”.

“The jury could not realistically be asked or expected to approach [Ward’s] alleged offending in a blinkered or compartmentalised fashion in a case such as this, “ he said.