survivor has spoken out after her abuser was given a 10-year restraining order and sentenced to over 3.5 years following an 18-month campaign of physical and emotional abuse.
In a powerful victim impact statement, the woman described the long-lasting impact the abuse has had on her life.
She said: “I am still living with it every single day. The fear he created did not stop; it stayed with me. It has become part of how I exist.
“I have lived with the genuine fear that he could kill me. That is not something I can simply forget or move past. Those words continue to replay in my mind, and they continue to shape my daily life.
“What he has done to me has changed my life in ways that cannot be undone. He has taken my sense of safety, my peace of mind, my confidence, and my ability to trust. I am left trying to rebuild a life that no longer feels like my own.”
Stephen Woodall (02/05/1967), Stanage Avenue, Manchester, was sentenced to 45 months at Bolton Crown Court on Tuesday 14 July 2026 and given a 10-year restraining order against the survivor after pleading guilty prior to trial to assault occasioning actual bodily har, Stalking involving fear of violence sharing a photograph of a person in an intimate state and perverting the course of justice
The woman was also assaulted by Woodall, leaving her requiring hospital treatment which resulted in five stitches. The defendant also further abused the woman by sharing intimate images of her online without her consent.
Following his arrest, and despite strict bail conditions being imposed, he continued to contact the woman to try and get her to drop the charges as well as messaging her friends and family.
