A mum who was controlled and spied on by her ex-husband has bravely spoken out on the hell she endured at his hands.
Kath Bevan told how her ex's abusive behaviour turned her from a confident woman into a "scared little girl", feeling more like "a house maid or a nanny".
The mum-of-two was tracked with a device which had been covertly installed on her phone, and discovered CCTV installed in her home.
Even Kath's Fitbit was being used to keep tabs on her every move.
Ex-husband Christopher Bevan was able to walk free from court this week after pleading guilty to coercive and controlling behaviour.
Kath, from Cardiff, has spoken out on her ordeal in the hopes other victims of domestic abuse will be able to come forward.
The couple had initially enjoyed a "happy relationship", she said, marrying in 2012 before going on to have their two children.
After the birth of Kath's son in 2017 and moving into their 'forever home', things took a sinister turn.
Christopher Bevan showed signs of depression which worsened into 2018.
"I was busy with work and keeping our family together," she told Wales Online.
"This was beginning to be a struggle as I had no support or help from Christopher. I felt like I was a house maid and nanny not a wife and mother."
First came the accusations that Kath was having an affair followed by a CCTV camera mounted in the kitchen to keep watch over Kath as she worked from home one day a week.
The scrutiny from her husband grew: "Whilst in work I then started to receive 'Find my iPhone' notifications which at the time I didn’t take much notice of," Kath explained.
"Then the harassment started with the numerous phone calls every day."
If she didn't answer, he followed up with a "bombardment of texts" until she responded.
During one evening out for food and drinks with her girlfriends, Christopher harassed Kath with 50 calls in a 60 minute period. Kath also found herself cross-examined over alleged affairs up to four times every day.
She said: "Then CCTV cameras started appearing in every room of our house including our bedroom and the children's room.
"The camera in our bedroom was focused on me sleeping in bed because he believed I was contacting someone whilst he was sleeping.
"During the day time he was watching me changing, dressing and doing general household chores in our bedroom. I was stripped of all privacy not only in our bedroom but all around our house.
"He even went to the extent of trashing our bedroom looking for 'evidence' of an affair and locking the downstairs windows as he believed I had men coming in through them."
Bevan accessed her WhatsApp messages on his own computer and installed a child's app on her mobile to monitor her texts, internet searches and social media activity. If she spent "too long" on social media, Bevan would lock Kath out of her own phone and force her to ask his permission to regain access.
"It was at this point I realised that I was unable to communicate to friends or family without him being aware," Kath said.
Things got so bad, Kath said she began walking with her face to the ground in case he spotted her making eye contact with anybody.
On Kath's 40th birthday, friends expressed their fears, telling her she looked like "a scared little girl who had to sit quietly and not speak".
Since leaving Christopher, she's reported him for stalking and been through both the family courts and criminal courts to find justice and bring about a new life for her and her children.
Bevan, 44, was sentenced to 12 months in prison, suspended for two years, at Cardiff Crown Court last week.
Bevan was also handed a 10-year restraining order by Judge Catherine Richards on Thursday and ordered to do a rehabilitation course, a building better relationships course, and 150 hours of unpaid work.
"Without my family and friends, I’m not sure where I would be today," Kath added.
I have become a stronger person and more importantly, a much happier person than I ever was.
"I am enjoying my new life and looking forward to what the future brings."
