Lancashire man jailed for 16 years for abuse that left partner paralysed
Robert Easom attacked and controlled his partner over eight years
Last updated 27th Feb 2026
A Lancashire man has been jailed for 16 years for coercive behaviour and assault after years of abuse that ultimately left his partner paralysed.
Robert Easom, 56, was found guilty in November of Section 18 Assault. He had previously admitted to coercive and controlling behaviour between July 2017 and February 2025, alongside two counts of actual bodily harm.
Easom subjected his partner to a campaign of physical and emotional abuse. The victim detailed the ongoing violence in notes on her phone, which were later used as evidence in court.
The abuse included pushing her into furniture, shouting, and, on one occasion in 2021, strangling her with a sheet over her head. In February 2025, during a brutal assault after she told him she was leaving, Easom severed her spinal cord, leaving her permanently paralysed and requiring specialist care.
Detective Constable Bethanie Kirk, from the Burnley Vulnerable Adults Team, described Easom as "manipulative and controlling" and praised the victim's bravery, saying:
“His cowardly and sustained abuse has had a profound and lasting impact on his victim and her loved ones. I hope she can now begin rebuilding her life, free from his control.”
In her victim statement read out in court Trudi Burgess said;
"The night of the attack I underwent an 11-hour operation to fix my fractured and dislocated vertebrae and decompress my spinal cord.
"I was then admitted to Critical Care where I remained for the next three months. I was and still am, paralysed from the chest down and for the first 10 weeks I couldn’t breathe on my own and was hooked up to a ventilator.
"I had to be fed through a tube. I couldn’t speak or communicate properly. I was trapped inside a broken body, fully aware of my surroundings but helpless and terrified."