Abuser, girlfriend and mum charged with perverting the course of justice
The alleged offences occurred during a trial at Preston Crown Court
Last updated 10th Oct 2025
A man, his mum and his girlfriend have been charged following a Lancashire Police investigation into allegations of perverting the course of public justice.
The alleged offences took place between 16th December 2024 and 3rd January 2025, while a criminal trial was ongoing at Preston Crown Court.
Following consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service, police confirmed that Ryan Wellings, 31, of no fixed address; Emma Croft, 28, of Rose Avenue, Blackpool; and Lisa Green, 52, of Haddon Road, Bispham, have each been charged with committing an act or series of acts with intent to pervert the course of public justice.
All three defendants are due to appear before magistrates in Preston on 28th October 2025.
The charges come after a high-profile case involving Wellings, who was previously jailed for six and a half years for assaulting and coercively controlling Fleetwood mum Kiena Dawes, who later died on a railway line.
Wellings was found guilty after a six-week trial at Preston Crown Court, where jurors heard harrowing details of the domestic abuse Kiena endured.
In a moving victim impact statement, Kiena’s mother Angela Dawes said:
“I feel like I have lived Kiena’s domestic abuse with her, and what I mean by this is that I was her main source of support, and I experienced the full range of emotions that Kiena had to go through with her. I was so scared of saying the wrong thing to Kiena, as I needed her to know that she could come to me anytime and I didn’t want her to close up.
“There were times that I would find out that things had happened a couple of days afterwards, such as the black eye in July 2021, and I know that sometimes Kiena tried to protect me by not saying things. As a mother, you do everything that you can to help your child and I have had to live through watching my daughter tell me that she was terrified and trapped, and when she said these things, it literally took my breath away, as I didn’t know how to help, I felt helpless.
“After an incident with Wellings, Kiena would come to be safe and stay with me, I can only explain that I would see a light coming back on, and that she would get some strength, but Wellings always found a way to take back control and take her strength away.
“It is heart wrenching to see your child hurt from anything, even by accident, but seeing your daughter hurt by someone else is sickening.”
A spokesperson for Lancashire Police said the force’s thoughts “are with Kiena and the Dawes family in what has been another extremely challenging day for them,” adding that while officers were satisfied Wellings had been jailed for his “abhorrent, sustained and cowardly conduct,” no sentence “will ever be enough for the Dawes family.”
Police also used the opportunity to appeal to anyone suffering domestic abuse to seek help, saying:
“We want people to see that domestic violence is not ok and people should respect their partners by showing them nothing but love and kindness. We also want to appeal directly to those who may be suffering domestic violence – speak to us and if you don't feel able please speak to your family and friends.”