Telford abuser and rapist jailed after terrorising multiple women - even from his prison cell

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Joshua Turner, aged 31, formerly of Hadley, Telford, terrorised multiple victims over a number of years, Shrewsbury Crown Court heard.

Prosecution barrister Ms Lynette McClement told the court Turner had admitted multiple charges when he appeared in the dock for sentencing on Friday, including multiple counts of controlling and coercive behaviour, as well as a charge of perverting the course of justice, unlawful wounding and rape.

She said Turner’s violent and obsessive behaviour dating back a number of years when he started a relationship with a woman in Shropshire.

Ms McClement said it wasn’t long before Turner’s abusive behaviour surfaced as on one occasion, when he demanded tobacco from the woman, he pushed her head against a wall, “causing a hole in the masonry”.

His abuse of the woman continued, even when she fell pregnant, Ms McClement told the court, with Turner threatening to kick the woman in the stomach, which resulted in her deciding to terminate the pregnancy.

In another incident, Turner bent the woman’s arm behind her back during a row and broke it using his knee on her back.

The woman said she was screaming in pain after hearing her arm “crack” and begged Turner to call an ambulance, but he refused unless she promised not to tell anybody what he had done.

The woman was left with a “life-long injury” following the assault, which has left her with only partial movement in her arm.

Ms McClement said another victim met Turner while on a night out with friends in Shrewsbury and reported that his controlling behaviour began with constant calls and texts early on in their relationship.

She said that Turner prohibited her from contacting friends, was verbally abusive and insisted she could not get a job.

When she tried to leave him, Turner would “bombard” her with calls, and on one occasion, he attacked her, taking her car keys.

Even after complaining about Turner to police, the woman said she received 50 missed calls from him while she was in the police station, and in a statement said she “lived in constant fear” of Turner.

Another victim described by Ms McClement as “particularly vulnerable” as she was disabled, said she realised early on that Turner was abusive but when she ended a relationship with him and reported him to the police, his torment continued from his prison cell.

Ms McClement said: “He sent her a letter from prison, which made her feel physically sick.”

She said after the prison was informed, Turner began using a cell mate’s PIN card, so he could make phone calls to his victim from prison “stepping around” the procedures put in place to stop prisoners from contacting victims.

Ms McClement said Turner tried to “emotionally manipulate her” and force her to drop any criminal charges against him.

In a statement, the woman said she was “terrified” of Turner.

Ms McClement said Turner also raped another woman.

“This is a man that is a danger to women,” she told the judge.

In mitigation, Mr Danny Smith told the court that Turner, a former air conditioning engineer, had spent nearly two years in custody already, during which time he had become a “prison listener” helping other inmates.

“He recognises the risk he posed and he knows that the only way to reduce that risk is to not fight against the system but to work with the system,” he said.

The judge, Mr Recorder Julian Taylor, told Turner he posed a “significant risk to the public”

He jailed Turner for a total of nine years with a two-year extended licence period, which means Turner will remain on licence two years after his nine-year sentence was finished.

Turner was also placed on a sexual harm prevention order to inform the police whenever he starts a new relationship, and he was slapped with restraining orders preventing him from contacting any of his victims.

The judge told Turner he would have to serve at least two-thirds of his sentence in jail, minus the time already spent on remand.

“You clearly have a problem with relationships with women and you need to sort that out,” the judge said.