Man who held woman captive and repeatedly assaulted her is jailed

A man who held a woman captive in her own flat, threatened her with a knife and assaulted her repeatedly has been jailed for 11 years.

Owen Bush met the woman in a pub and after a few drinks, they returned to the victim’s flat together. Over the course of the next few days, Bush prevented the woman from leaving her flat, taking her keys and her mobile phone.

He also held a knife to her throat, threatened to cut her cat, and pulled her hair out. On one occasion, he grabbed her by her top and hair, shoved her to the floor and stamped on her face as well as kicking her and swinging punches at her until she couldn’t move.

He forced her to take a bath with him and wash his hair and kept a knife at the side of the bed after making her sleep next to him.

When a neighbour called police to report concerns about the noises from the property, Bush forced the woman to hide and stay silent.

While she was being held in the flat, the woman had to ask Bush for permission to use the toilet, was banned from speaking to anyone and ordered not to even talk to her cat.

The ordeal only came to an end five days later on July 24 2022 when Bush left the address saying he needed to ‘sort some things out’.

After being arrested, Bush was taken to the Royal Derby Hospital for an assessment where he tried to flee from officers but was detained a minute later.

The 27-year-old of Bass Street, was charged with false imprisonment, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, threatening a person with an offensive weapon and escaping from lawful custody. He denied the offences but pleaded guilty on the day of trial at Derby Crown Court on Friday 14 July.

Owen Bush

As well as being jailed for 11 years and two months, Bush was handed an extended four-year licence period due to the danger he posed and a restraining order preventing him from having any contact with the victim.

Detective Staff Investigator Katie Angius, who led the investigation, said: “This was a truly terrifying incident where the victim was held hostage in her own home – the place she should have felt safest.

“The injuries he inflicted on her were appalling so I’m pleased to now see that he is behind bars for a considerable length of time for his crimes.

“I hope this allows the victim to start rebuilding her life, safe in the knowledge that Bush has been taken off the streets for the foreseeable future.”

Spotting the signs of abuse isn’t always easy. If you are suffering abuse, it can be hard to accept that the person you love might in fact be controlling you.

Some key signs to look out for include:

• Making unreasonable demands or to do things you don’t want to, often followed up by threats, pressure, or even physical restraint if you don’t agree.
• Name calling or bullying. Belittling you in front of your friends or making you feel worthless.
• Controlling what you do with your time, isolating you from friends or family, stalking your movements, making unwanted contact.
• Monitoring your spending, giving you an ‘allowance’ to live off, taking your money.
• Controlling your phone or other devices, changing your passwords so they can access them or stopping you from using them.
• Destroying or damaging your belongings or home.

People suffering abuse don’t always consider themselves as a victim, and it may not be immediately obvious what they are going through. It might be they need some help to take that first step or recognise that their loved one’s behaviour is not normal or acceptable.

There is help and support available if you are experiencing issues like these or if you have concerns about someone you know.

You can contact us if you need support or advice from the police and it's not an emergency through the following channels:

• Facebook– send us a private message to our Facebook page
• Twitter– direct message our contact centre via @DerPolContact
• Website– We have several crime reporting tools on our website or use our online contact form
• Phone – call us on 101

All reports will be taken seriously, and we are committed to listening to victims and their feedback to provide the very best service to victims of domestic abuse.

In an emergency, or where there is an immediate risk to life, call 999.

If you are not ready to speak to the police, then there are a number of support services in Derbyshire which can offer help.

Derbyshire Domestic Abuse Helpline
Provides a range of support services for men, women or children affected by domestic abuse.
Call 0800 0198 668 (any time). If you're deaf or hard of hearing, use our textphone service 07534 617252.

Derbyshire County Council domestic abuse support
Help for children, young people and families who are affected by domestic abuse or violence, including refuge accommodation.

SV2 
Support for children, young people and adults who are affected by sexual violence. We support all genders from any age and offer counselling to both adults and children.

Derbyshire LGBT+ 
Support for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans plus community.

Derbyshire Victim Services
A hub of victim service information, which provides easily accessible information, advice and links to victim services for all victims of crime.

Derbyshire Recovery Partnership is an integrated drug and alcohol service for adults in Derbyshire and offers a service which works with all levels of drug and alcohol misuse, as well as supporting people affected by another person's drug use such as family, friends and carers. You can refer yourself into the service by calling: 01246 206514 or 0845 308 40 10.