Leadnaija
A woman who believed her new boyfriend was a ‘nice guy’ until a Google search revealed her initial impressions of the man were far from the truth.
The mother, who cannot be name for legal reasons, had previously been subject to a torrent of domestic abuse and hoped to find Mr. Right when she accepted a friend request on Snapchat.
She began chatting with Liverpool native, Sean Marr, believing she had finally met a ‘nice guy’, according to The Liverpool Echo.
But after searching his name on Google, the mother quickly realised her initial impressions were far from reality – and her new dream man was actually a prolific abuser.
Sean Marr, 38, had added the unnamed mother on the photo messenger app where he had began communicating with her regularly – even claiming he was ‘against men being abusive towards women.’
But she quickly discovered that he had a slew of convictions of abuse made by Sean’s former partners.
In total, Sean had amassed 24 previous convictions for 75 offences, including one for stalking in 2019 and another for threatening criminal damage and a malicious communications offence.
When the mother finally confronted him on what she’d read about him online, Sean responded by dispatching a barrage of harassment, even threatening to ‘come for her parents’.
In total, Sean had amassed 24 previous convictions for 75 offences, including one for stalking in 2019 and another for threatening criminal damage and a malicious communications offence
Liverpool Crown Court heard that Sean first interacted with the victim on social media last year.
Having built what the mother thought was a good relationship, the pair went on to spent a night together in Blackpool. She said the convicted abuser had ‘seemed nice’.
The relationship quickly progressed and they went on a couple’s holiday to Lancaster together.
But while on their romantic getaway, the unnamed woman discovered Sean’s full name and Googled him.
In court, legal prosecutor Sarah Egan said that Sean had lied to the mother, reassuring her that he was ‘against men being abusive towards women’, though his violent convictions bore a more sinister truth.
Sean insisted he has ‘confirmed he had been in jail’, despite the mother maintaining that she had had no idea of his previous misdemeanors.
The court heard that the pair’s relationship had started to ‘go downhill’ after the mother had learned of his violent streak, with Sean bullying her into deleting her social media accounts because he ‘didn’t trust her on them’
The court heard that the pair’s relationship had started to ‘go downhill’ after the mother had learned of his violent streak, with Sean bullying her into deleting her social media accounts because he ‘didn’t trust her on them’.
On one occasion, he had even forced her to FaceTime him to confirm that she was really laying in bed with her children.
He even tried to ‘stop her from seeing her best friend’ and ‘accused her of cheating on him’.
Having grown suspicious of his increasingly controlling behaviour, she decided to Google him and from there found numerous newspaper articles that revealed he’d previously abused several women.
The mother then confronted but but his ‘behaviour worsened’. Disturbed by the worrying behaviour , she decided to block him on her social media.
But Sean wasn’t letting go and continued to call her from fake numbers, desperately calling ‘at all times of the day’.
On one occasion she answered the phone and was met with the chilling threat that Sean would ‘coming for her parents’, with the abuser even reading out their address.
He also threatened to expose her by posting photos and videos of her naked, which he had taken without her consent.
Reading a statement in court, the woman said the horrors of Sean’s actions had brought back horrific memories of her previous experiences of male abuse.
‘I told Sean really personal stuff about me and my ex-partner because I thought he was a nice guy. He brought it up. I can’t believe he’s brought it up and hurt me the most. Nobody has the right to make threats towards me and put me in fear,’ she said.
Defending the perpetrator in court, Peter White said Sean was at risk of being ‘institutionalised’ and that he had PTSD from witnessing a ‘very serious offence’ when he was young.
He went on to say that the incident and even resulted in those committing the offences getting life in prison and that he had been so impacted as a result that his mental health had prevented him holding down a job.
Sean allegedly spent ‘several months being homeless’ and despite having briefly found himself a room in a hostel, he was once again struggling to find somewhere to live.
‘It has been some time since he last appeared before the crown court.
‘If these offences carry on, at some point the courts may have real issues as potentially assessing Mr Marr as being a dangerous offender.’
In court, Sean admitted to ‘harassment, threatening to share an intimate photograph and breaching a stalking protection order’ that was placed on him in September 2023.
After hearing evidence, the court ruled that Sean, who appeared on a video link from HMP Liverpool, would receive a 20-month prison sentence and a 10-year restraining order.
Sentencing, Judge Neil Flewitt KC said: ‘You are a serial abuser of woman. If you continue to behave in that way, there will come a point when the court concludes that you are a dangerous offender.
‘I accept that there has been trauma in your life and that may have contributed to your offending, but it is not an excuse.’
