CPS Wessex: National Stalking Awareness Week

Last week was National Stalking Awareness Week, and through the week we raised awareness of stalking behaviours and the work we are doing to ensure offenders are brought to justice.

Louise Holmes, a Senior District Crown Prosecutor and Domestic Abuse Lead with CPS Wessex, said, “Stalking can have a catastrophic effect on victim’s lives, often altering their lives entirely. 

“We work closely with various agencies to identify stalking at the earliest opportunity, keeping the support and safety of victims at the forefront of every decision we make.

“Each case is reviewed on its own merits, focusing on the behaviour of the perpetrator and the impact on victims, and we advise investigators in order to build strong and robust cases.

“We also hold regular meetings with our police counterparts to share examples of good practice and analyse cases which did not achieve a conviction, and we are committed to continuously improving our processes.”

This week, we are sharing examples of some cases recently prosecuted by our CPS prosecutors in courts across Dorset, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, and Wiltshire.

Case studies

At Isle of Wight Magistrates' Court, a man pleaded guilty to stalking without fear of violence, after putting a tracking device on the victims' car and monitoring their movements. He had claimed that he wrongly believed that the car belonged to someone he suspected of having an affair with his partner.

However, upon reviewing his internet search history, it was indicated that the defendant had an interest in stalking women. 

At court, he was given a Community Order lasting 12 months, with the requirement to complete 15 rehabilitation days. He was also made subject of a two-year restraining order to protect the victim from any further contact.

At Basingstoke Magistrates' Court, a man pleaded guilty to stalking without fear of violence, after continually harassing his ex-partner through a variety of channels. This included threats to harm himself and harassing friends and family of the victim.

The defendant was ordered to pay a fine of £1000, and the victim was granted a restraining order to last two years.

At Portsmouth Magistrates' Court, a man pleaded guilty to stalking involving serious alarm and distress, after he harassed a woman that he met on a dating website. The defendant pretended to be a series of different people and left the victim multiple missed calls and voicemails under different names.

He was sentenced to 24 weeks’ imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, and made subject of an indefinite restraining order.

Also at Portsmouth Magistrates' Court, a man was found guilty after trial of sexual assault and stalking without fear of violence.

Having been granted bail at court for harassment, the defendant continued to contact the victim by calling and messaging excessively, leaving voicemails and loitering around a bus stop she regularly used to take and pick up her children from school. 

On one occasion, the defendant alighted the bus and during this encounter touched the victim under her skirt after making loud and public sexual comments.

He was sentenced to three months’ imprisonment for the stalking offence, and six months for the sexual assault. He was also made subject of a restraining order for two years, and made subject to a notification requirement on the sex offenders register for period of seven years.