CPS Wessex: National Stalking Awareness Week and Successful Stalking Prosecutions

During National Stalking Awareness Week, we are raising awareness of stalking behaviours and the work we are doing to ensure offenders are brought to justice.

We know that stalking can have a devastating and long-lasting impact on victims, which is why it is so important that we work with the police under our joint protocol to identify stalking behaviours at the earliest opportunity.

Stalking cases are becoming increasingly prevalent, but we are working tirelessly to provide victims with the greatest possible protection from repeat offending.

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

Case Study 1: In this case a man was charged with stalking and assaulting his ex-partner. He pleaded guilty to these offences at court and was released on stringent bail conditions which included non-contact with the victim, not to contact family members, not to go to the area the victim lived in and an exclusion zone.

Whilst awaiting sentence, he continued to stalk the victim. He turned up unexpectedly at places where she was. He was seen on CCTV staring at her at a petrol station. She received a high number of phone calls from a withheld caller ID. One evening when going to her car the defendant suddenly appeared and stood next to her car despite her parking at different locations to avoid him finding her. He sent messages for her via their child.

One evening when the victim came out of work, the defendant followed her and was shouting abuse and threats at her. She was terrified and said she felt like a prisoner, unable to go about her life. All of these incidents made her feel like he had been tracking her in some way.

The man denied the allegations when interviewed and claimed all the incidents of seeing her were just a coincidence. His account had no credibility, and he was charged with a further offence of stalking, to which he again pleaded guilty.

At court, he was sentenced to 34 weeks’ imprisonment in total, suspended for two years. He was also ordered to undertake a rehabilitation activity requirement and a programme requirement.

To further protect the victim and her child, he was made subject to a two-year Restraining Order.

Case Study 2:  The stalking behaviour in this case started in the early hours of the morning when the victim and her partner were asleep in bed. The victim’s ex-partner started banging on the front door and shouting for the victim. He continued this behaviour throughout the night and in the morning when the victim’s new partner went to work, he was waiting outside and saying that he wanted to take his child from the property.

When the victim went outside to go to work, he claimed that there would be a bomb at her place of work. The victim was later phoned by her children who told her that he had smashed the glass in the front door and broken into the home address, making extreme threats of violence.

At first, he denied stalking and breached his court bail by cutting off his tag. He was remanded into custody for almost six months awaiting trial, but eventually pleaded guilty.

He was sentenced to a 12-month Community Order, rehabilitation activity requirement and programme requirement. He was also given to a two-year Restraining Order to protect the victim, her partner, and children, preventing him going to the area of the home address or the child’s school.

Case Study 3: The victim and defendant were in a relationship for around six months. During that time the defendant was violent and abusive towards the victim. He was charged with offences of criminal damage and a Communications Act offence.

Following a hearing for that case, the defendant subjected the victim to 559 phone calls from different phone numbers, a large number of text messages, WhatsApp messages and voicemails with threats and abuse directed at the victim. 
Initially denying all offences, the defendant eventually changed his pleas to guilty to all offences and was sentenced to three years and four months’ imprisonment. He was also given a Restraining Order for five years.

Case Study 4: The defendant in this case conducted a campaign of stalking against the victim, having already served time in prison for domestic abuse offences.

The victim was going to the local shop when she saw the defendant in his van slowly driving past and staring at her. She then received missed phone calls from a withheld number. She checked her home CCTV, which had been installed to protect her against the defendant and saw that on more than one occasion he had been driving slowly past her house. Her son received a voicemail from the defendant asking whose car was parked on their driveway.

The impact on the victim in this case was very serious, causing her to be constantly looking over her shoulder and she suffered physical effects in that her whole body would shake with fear thinking about the defendant. She felt she would be living the rest of her life in fear. She had to notify her work and neighbours in case the defendant turned up causing problems.

The defendant pleaded guilty to stalking causing serious alarm and distress, and breach of a Restraining Order. He was sentenced to eight months’ imprisonment, suspended for two years with rehabilitation and programme requirements. A further Restraining Order was ordered for a period of five years to protect the victim and her son.

Case Study 5: The victim and defendant had been married and there was a young child of the relationship. When the victim ended the relationship, the defendant embarked on a prolonged period of stalking behaviour leaving the victim in fear for her life, too scared to be in her own home and terrified of the impact on their child. The defendant refused to accept the relationship was over, that the victim did not want to see him or that he could not control her social movements.

He persistently sent her text messages attempting to control her and find out about her life. When she asked him to stop and blocked him, he stated that he had a right to know about her as they were married. He then turned up at her place of work on more than one occasion, he left her gifts at her home address and followed her home. Finally, she woke up to find him in her bedroom where he assaulted her.

At court, the defendant pleaded guilty to stalking and theft. He was sentenced to 15 months’ imprisonment and given a Restraining Order for five years to protect the victim and child.

Case Study 6: The offences in this case started when the defendant sent the victim numerous WhatsApp messages over several days wanting to meet up and refusing to accept their relationship was over.

He wanted to know if she had a new partner and sent a photo of him sitting in his vehicle near to her house. At this time the defendant was already on bail conditions for similar offending.

The defendant made repeated calls to the victim, her friends and family. He was seen near her house, and he actively avoided the police. He stated in one message that he knew the police were looking for him, he was ‘going back to prison and had nothing to lose’.

The messages escalated when he made a threat to burn down the victim’s house and told her to make sure she was out of the house. He then sent a message saying he knew where her daughter was at college.

After the police arrested him, he was charged with stalking and making threats to damage or destroy property.

The defendant was found guilty of both offences after a trial and was sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment. He was also given an indefinite Restraining Order, which means the order will be in place to protect the victim and her family until such time as there is any application to change the order before the court.

More information

Follow @CPSWessex on Twitter throughout the week for more information on our work to identify stalking behaviours and to prosecute offenders at the earliest opportunity.