A thug told his ex-girlfriend to 'leave England' to avoid him and even threatened to 'torch' her home in a series of terrifying calls. James Casey was handed a restraining order last November after he admitted to harassing his partner Keeley, but breached the order within weeks by calling her 60 times in one day.
Keeley and James had been together since they were teenagers, but she ended their relationship in December 2021 after discovering he had been seeing other women. The couple have a daughter together who is now five, LancsLive reports.
Out-of-work plumber James, who had been in custody since his arrest in January, had made several menacing threats to driving instructor Keeley, from Rawtenstall, during the calls on December 16, in which he called her a 'daft little c***' and warned: "I'm coming for you."
READ MORE 'James wasn't interested when we were together. Once I ended it he became obsessed'
Casey, of Winchester Way, Bolton, was sentenced at Bolton Crown Court to two years and 21 weeks in prison after he pleaded guilty to stalking Keeley Wood, the mother of his child. Judge Tom Gilbart told him he had a 'flagrant disregard for court orders'.
When Casey appeared at Blackburn Magistrates' Court in November his own solicitor described his actions as 'despicable, deplorable and disgusting'. He promised she wouldn't hear from him again and was handed a restraining order - but just weeks later, he bombarded her with the threatening calls.
Keeley attended Casey's sentencing hearing this week in Bolton and bravely read out a victim impact statement. She recalled how, one day last week, her daughter's school had called her to say she was crying and screaming because she feared 'daddy has escaped from jail'.
Keeley cleverley recorded some of the terrifying phone calls which she later handed to police. Those recorded calls can now be published after Casey was jailed on Monday.
In the calls Casey tells Keeley: "You think I'm a dickhead you don't you? I don't care about the police. What are the police gonna do? You daft little c***. Tell them to come for me. Watch. I'm coming for you you daft little c***.
"Watch the house now it's getting torched. You daft little lying t***. Nobody knows where I am. Get out of that f***ing house cos I'm coming for it. I know where your nan lives. I know where your granddad lives. I'm coming for you all.
"I'd leave England if you want to avoid me because I'm telling you now Keeley I'm f***ing coming for you you little f****ing rat. How dare you take my daughter from me. Do you think you're clever?
"That shotgun of mine is gonna go under your f***ing head. I'll do more than shoot you. It'll all soon be over. You're going to lose Lilliana."
At this point the couple's daughter interrupts and says to her dad: "I'm not telling you what school I go to." Keeley then tells her daughter not to say anything else.
James then says: "It's daddy, I love you darling. Keeley it's game over now. Nobody will catch me. I'm on the run now and I'll tell you now, if you're at that house, you're f***ed. I swear to god when I get out of prison."
Casey has 17 previous convictions for 39 offences including harassment, burglary and breaching court orders. Defending, Nick Ross told the court: "He has had a historic problem with cocaine. He isn't all bad but he recognises he has let so many people down.
"His only explanation, and he knows this is no excuse, but on the day in question he was missing contact with his daughter and indulged heavily in alcohol. He understands that this was appalling behaviour."
Sentencing, Judge Gilbart said: "You threatened to bomb her house, to shoot her with a shotgun, to burn her house down and you told her it was 'game over' she was 'f***ed' and would lose her daughter. You show a complete disregard for court orders and you knew full well that you were prohibited from contacting the victim."
Casey was given a two-year sentence for breaching the restraining order, a 12-month concurrent sentence for stalking, a 21-week sentence for breaching a suspended sentence to run consecutively and a 12-month sentence for breaching a non-molestation order. The total sentence came to two years and 21 weeks.
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