Liam Cowley, 32, broke into the woman’s home and raped her multiple times in a horrifying ordeal, while it was later discovered he had adopted an alias and inflicted violence on a 19-year-old partner
A despicable rapist forced his way into a pregnant woman’s home in the night and raped her in a horrifying attack lasting several hours. Liam Cowley, 32, grabbed two knives from the kitchen and menacingly warned his victim “you know what’s going to happen next” before raping her.
Cowley was charged but failed to turn up at court, and it was later discovered he had fled from Liverpool to Norfolk, begun a relationship with a 19-year-old colleague, and subjected her to frequent violent attacks.
Cowley, of no fixed address, had singled out a vulnerable pregnant woman in Liverpool after stealing one of her front door keys. He manipulated her by threatening to contact social services, claiming she had voluntarily handed him the key and risked losing her children.
He exploited this fear, allowing himself entry to her property repeatedly throughout the night, sometimes assaulting her whilst she slept. During proceedings at Liverpool Crown Court, prosecutor Martine Snowdon stated: “The defendant on a number of occasions just did what he wanted when he wanted in circumstances where she was not consenting to it, and he was repeatedly threatening and intimidating her.”
On one occasion, Cowley burst into the woman’s property whilst her children slept upstairs, immediately beginning a brutal assault by headbutting and spitting on her.
While drunk, he ordered the victim to “go and make me a f****** steak”. When she declined, he retaliated with a blow to the side of her head and smashed her phone as she attempted to ring 999, reports the Liverpool Echo.
“With no means to call for help, she ran out of the front door to scream for help, but no one responded and he dragged her back inside. He grabbed her round her throat and started choking her,” Ms Snowdon said.
“Briefly he let go but then did it again, this time she blacked out and woke up on the floor, where he then proceeded to kick her. She pleaded with him saying ‘you know I’m pregnant’, which was true, in the hope that was stop him attacking her.
“Instead of bringing him to his senses he picked up the metal tube from the vacuum and snapped it,holding it over her as if he was going to hit her with it. She said she was lucky because he changed his mind and hit the television, not her.
“She went to go upstairs and he began ripping at her clothes. He told her she couldn’t check on the children, she couldn’t go to the toilet and wasn’t to leave his sight.
“He continued to be aggressive and took two knives from the kitchen, putting one on the side near the door and another next to her on the sofa and said ‘you know what’s going to happen next’. She said ‘I don’t know, you’re probably going to kill me’, and believed that is what he was going to do. His response was ‘no, much worse’.”
In the wake of these threats, he sexually assaulted the woman twice. Once he had fallen asleep, the woman managed to flee the house with her two children, seeking refuge in a nearby mobile phone shop.
She alerted the police, leading to Cowley’s arrest and subsequent charges for multiple offences.
He was due to face trial at Liverpool Crown Court in early 2024. Nevertheless, he failed to turn up, and it was subsequently revealed he had fled to Norfolk, where he was employed at a pub using the false identity Tommy Lee King.
In July 2024, the 32-year-old entered into a relationship with a teenage work colleague and relocated to her mother’s residence in Wareside. The five-month relationship was plagued by multiple violent episodes carried out by Cowley against the 19-year-old.
Ms Snowdon said: “She described occasions when, during an argument, Tommy would try and strangle her. He would pin her to the bed and grab her throat. This had happened a few times but she specifically recalled it happening on two occasions, both taking place during arguments in which he physically assaulted her as well as strangling her. She also described him spitting at her in the course of arguments.”
On 7 December 2024, following an attack where Cowley had punched and strangled her, the young woman sought medical treatment. Ms Snowdon explained: “She allowed the police to take photographs of her injuries. but at that stage she didn’t want to make a formal complaint and just wanted to move on from the relationship.”
It was only after the officers had departed that she learnt, through a friend of her mother’s and social media investigation, that Tommy Lee King was not his genuine name. In truth, he was Liam Cowley, a man sought for other crimes in Liverpool.
Cowley, formerly of Kingham Road in Wareside, was arrested again and appeared before Liverpool Crown Court this July. He denied three rape charges, four counts of intentional strangulation, and making threats to kill, but was found guilty on all counts.
He pleaded guilty to two assault charges and one bail breach.
His sentencing was initially set for September, but was delayed after he claimed to suffer from OCD, ADHD, borderline personality disorder and a brain injury that affected his behaviour. Later enquiries found no medical evidence to support any of these alleged conditions.
At yesterday’s sentencing hearing on Wednesday, December 10, defence barrister Graham Wilson said: “I have seen nothing of medical notes. It seems the injuries he has reported to his head were never reported and he never went to hospital for them.
“He has work lined up for when he gets out of prison. That, he accepts, could be a number of years.
“This is a man who, despite these very serious offences, is in many ways trying to come to terms with what he is and why he behaves in the way he has. I accept he doesn’t accept guilt on the rape matters. The sentence is bound to be a lengthy one.”
Cowley was handed an 18-year jail term, along with an extra five-year extended licence period due to the danger he poses, bringing his total extended sentence to 23 years.
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