Michael Ball, a 31-year-old man from the Wigan area, was sentenced to 19 years in prison at Bolton Crown Court following a trial in September 2025. He had been found guilty of four counts of rape and one count of controlling and coercive behaviour. The offences primarily occurred between October 2020 and January 2021, during which Ball exerted extreme control over his partner, Jasmin, isolating her from her support network and subjecting her to repeated physical and sexual abuse.
The court heard detailed accounts of Ball's coercive tactics. He dictated Jasmin's clothing choices, verbally abusing her with derogatory terms if she did not comply, and prevented her from socialising with family and friends who had raised concerns about his behaviour. Ball monitored her movements incessantly, forbade her from attending gatherings, and forced her to resign from her job as a carer. He also fraudulently took out loans in her name and accessed her bank accounts without permission. During parties at their home, Jasmin was confined upstairs, with Ball lying to guests about her absence to avoid any interaction.
- Physical assaults left Jasmin with bruises on multiple occasions.
- Ball strangled her several times, including one incident where he used a dressing gown cord to choke her.
- In a particularly harrowing act, he locked her in a suitcase while he went out.
The abuse escalated to sexual violence in January 2021. Jasmin recounted refusing Ball's advances when he was drunk, only to wake up two hours later to him raping her. Terrified by his prior threats to kill her if she reported him, she did not resist. This incident led to his arrest by Greater Manchester Police on 19 January 2021. Ball denied all allegations while in custody.
Prosecutors revealed that two of the rape convictions involved Jasmin, while the other two related to a separate victim from the Lancashire area. Following the guilty verdict, a restraining order was imposed to protect Jasmin, and Ball was placed permanently on the sex offenders' register. He will also serve an additional five years on extended licence upon release.
Jasmin waived her right to anonymity to deliver a powerful victim impact statement in court. 'I wish I could go back in time and tell myself that it will all be okay and you will get through this,' she said. 'Since 2021 my life has completely changed... I still remember the feeling of him touching me, how it felt on my body when he was doing it to me.' She highlighted her recovery, noting her new relationship and role as a mother, and her commitment to a domestic abuse survivors' group. Jessica Daley, an Independent Domestic & Sexual Abuse Advisor from Wigan Council, praised Jasmin's resilience: 'It’s been a long and difficult journey to justice but I’m immensely proud of Jaz – her resilience, bravery and how far she’s come.'
Detective Sergeant Sean Goddard from Greater Manchester Police's Wigan division commended Jasmin's courage: 'This case demonstrates the devastating impact coercive control and sexual violence can have on a victim... I would like to commend her courage in speaking out.' The case, reported by Wigan Today on 17 November 2025, underscores the severe consequences of such abusive behaviour within domestic relationships in the Greater Manchester area.