David Dallison: Serial domestic abuser convicted of assault

David Dallison will be sentenced on 13 September

A "serial domestic abuse perpetrator" who escaped a rape prosecution after a series of official failings has been convicted of assaulting another woman.

David Dallison, of Golborne Gardens, Ladbroke Grove, London, assaulted a former partner and breached a court order that banned contact with her.

Last year, a BBC investigation examined how the authorities handled rape and abuse cases involving the 45-year-old.

The complainant in those cases, Henriett Szucs, was hospitalised.

Ms Szucs was found on the ground beneath Dallison's high-rise flat and told police he had pushed her out.

In hospital, she met her eventual killer Zahid Younis, who murdered her and another victim, Mihrican Mustafa, before storing their bodies in a freezer at his Newham flat.

The story of Henriett - and the state's failure to protect her - was intimately connected to Dallison, who has repeatedly committed offences against women.

Henriett Szucs was eventually murdered by Zahid Younis

Two prosecutions against Dallison, involving rape, assault, and false imprisonment, were dropped when officers "lost" Henriett. Because she was not present, a judge directed that Dallison, who denied the charges, be declared not guilty and he walked free.

Detectives had advised Henriett it might be in her "best interests" to leave the country, and the judge said she might possibly have followed the advice, despite knowing she had no passport.

Henriett, a Hungarian national without family in the UK, was actually under the control of her killer Younis and was murdered soon afterwards. Police never reported her missing and it was almost two years before her body was found by chance.

• The missed chances to identify a double killer

• How warnings about Heni and Jan's killer were missed

A domestic homicide review, which will examine how the authorities protected Henriett, is expected to be published later this year.

On Friday, at Westminster Magistrates' Court, Dallison was convicted by magistrates of assaulting a former partner in May this year.

Dallison punched the woman after confronting her in the street. He subjected her to misogynistic verbal abuse during the assault.

The court heard him described as a "serial domestic abuser perpetrator" who is "frequently abusive" to partners and ex-partners.

Prosecutor Adrita Ahmed said the only time he had not committed offences against women was when he was in prison.

This amounts to an "ongoing, established, and persistent pattern of behaviour".

The court heard his previous offences involve breaches of restraining orders during which he committed assaults and made threats to kill.

Dallison was remanded in custody and will be sentenced on 13 September.