Suspended sentence for Facebook stalker

A man who sent a woman 80 Facebook messages in 14 days before contacting her friends and family to find out where she lived has been given a suspended sentence.

Jamie Norman, from Haverfordwest, admitted stalking the woman after a four-week campaign of messages to her, her ex-partner and friends.

The 39-year-old’s actions culminated in him knocking on every door in the estate looking for the victim, after he reported to the police that her friends were “keeping her away” from him.

The suspect was arrested on May 28 due to the “seriousness and disturbing nature” of the crime.

Unusually

Dyfed-Powys Police DC Gmerek said: “This was quite an unusual investigation because the offender himself contacted police, claiming that the victim’s friends were preventing her from contacting him.”

“This was followed by a second call later that day during which he stated that he had further information about the victim’s address and that he intended to knock on doors in the area until he found her.

“It was clearly a behavioral issue, but at that point we were unaware of the extent of his behavior toward the victim.”

Telephone handlers in the control room received a report of a man calling homes in the Haverfordwest estate in the early morning hours of May 28, just hours after the suspect himself contacted police.

CCTV footage shows it was Norman.

The investigation found that in addition to sending the victim 80 messages – most of which were sent in one day – he had contacted her friends asking if he should “pursue” her and even told her mother he wanted to marry her .

Obsession

“There was a large amount of evidence to consider given the number of messages sent to both the victim and other people,” DC Gmerek said.

“The evidence showed a high degree of obsession, including sexual elements and implicit threats, as well as four stalking behaviours: fixation, obsession, aversive and repetitive.

“A charge of stalking involving serious alarm or distress was made.”

Norman pleaded guilty to the crime and appeared in court, where he was sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for 18 months.

He must complete 250 hours of unpaid work and complete a rehabilitation activity requirement.

DC Gmerek added: “Stalking and harassment can cause serious distress to victims, leaving them looking over their shoulders and questioning their safety.

“Norman’s victim expressed feelings of anxiety and fear and, as a result of his behavior, felt forced to change parts of her lifestyle.

“Reporting stalking behavior to the police is a very brave step and in this case I would like to commend the victim for seeking support.”

Visit this page if you need support with bullying or harassment.