A boyfriend tried to "emotionally blackmail" his partner after she dumped him by bombarding her with messages saying he would take his own life. Tim Davis on one occasion told the woman he would "go on a rampage" if she did not get back to him.
A hearing at Derby Crown Court was told how his incessant voice calls and texts left the victim so emotionally exhausted she had to move out of her home. And the harassment offences happened just months after the 32-year-old Derby man, who had just moved from Nottingham, had been spared prison for other offences, including dangerous driving, Derbyshire Live reports.
Jailing him for eight weeks, Judge Jonathan Bennett said: "I come to the view this was intended to maximise the distress and fear with you repeatedly telling the complainant what you were going to do to yourself. The whole purpose of that was to clearly put pressure on her and it seriously distressed her.
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"She had to leave her own house, I don't know how long for, but even a couple of nights is bad enough. But I don't think, in all the circumstances it is not proportionate to activate the suspended sentence."
Ricardo Childs, prosecuting, told the hearing how Davis, of William Street, was handed a 15-month jail term, suspended for two years, at Nottingham Crown Court on January 6 for offences of dangerous driving, driving while disqualified and affray.
He said, after that, the defendant moved from Nottingham to Derby and started seeing a support worker who became his partner and who lives in the Stockbrook area of the city. The prosecutor said: "There were reportedly several incidents of aggression and on one occasion he locked her in her bedroom.
"As far as she was concerned the relationship was over and she tried to leave him but he said he would take his own life. (Between April 1 and 4) there were relentless messages and voice notes sent by the defendant. In one he said 'you better get back to me or I will go on a rampage if you don't."
She sent him messages back including one which read 'all you had to do was give me time and space and act like a man' and another which said 'you don't love me because you would not put someone you love through emotional blackmail'.
Davis was arrested and pleaded guilty to harassment and being in breach of the suspended sentence order. As well as the jail sentence, Judge Bennett handed the defendant a five-year restraining order not to contact the victim or go to her address. Justin Ablott, mitigating, said his client "has a number of difficulties".
He said: "His criminal record is (for offending) in Nottingham and he moved to this area for a fresh start. This was a serious and committed relationship and for whatever reason it broke down and that hit him particularly hard."
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