A jealous ex-boyfriend threatened to make his former partner homeless and put a firework through their letterbox in a sickening campaign of abuse.
Cameron Morgan, 24, had been in a relationship with the woman for nine months before it broke down when he became 'jealous' of the attention she gave to her newborn child. On January 7 he was staying at her house in Rochdale before an argument started over a message he saw on her phone.
She asked him to leave and Morgan retaliated by "smashing" her TV, worth £350. The victim called her grandmother for help to get Morgan out and in the process of doing so he hit the victim's fridge, leaving a dent in it.
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Wayne Jackson, prosecuting at Manchester Minshull Street, told the court that in the following days Morgan sent her 'threatening' Snapchat messages in which he told her she "should watch her windows," that he would "ruin everything for her" and he would "make her homeless".
On January 15 he sent her further messages asking for her to "come back" to try and work their relationship. When this did not work on January 17 he resorted to abusive language and called her a "slag", later leaving her a number of missed calls from an unknown number with voicemails of abuse towards her.
Mr Jackson told the court that the victim would block his number each time but that he would manage to call her from an unknown number. Days later, on her birthday, he threatened to put a firework through her letterbox.
The abuse came to a head when on January 25 she posted a story on social media of her at home cooking sausages, the court heard. Morgan replied demanding to know if there was another man in her house and saying he was going around to her house.
Mr Jackson said she messaged Morgan to "leave her alone" but he did go round to her house and managed to gain entry. Once in her house he was "shouting and banging". A neighbour heard and intervened to get Morgan out of the property but he continued to shout and bang on the windows and doors of the house.
During this he took hold of a birthday banner outside the house, lighting the bottom of it with a lighter, before putting it through her letterbox while her baby was in the house, the court heard. He then made a threatening gesture at her before leaving in a taxi. Morgan was arrested later that day.
A victim impact statement from the victim read to the court said this ordeal had given her anxiety and had severely affected her day to day life.
Defending Morgan, Patrick Buckley, told the court that this was Morgan's first criminal offence and that he is "motivated to change" having pleaded guilty. Mr Buckley added that Morgan was remorseful and expressed "bewilderment" at his behaviour.
Recorder Imran Shafi, sentencing Morgan to six months custody suspended for two years for criminal damage and putting a person in fear of violence by harassment, told him: "You must now reflect on your incredibly immature and selfish position."
Referring to the January 25 incidents recorder Shafi said the victim's social media story of cooking sausages was "posted innocently" and that it was 'none of his business' if another man was at her house. "You set fire to a birthday banner outside her house and tried to post it through the letterbox even though you knew there was a young child in the house," Mr Shafi added.
Mr Shafi also ordered Morgan, of Hare Hill Road, Littleborough, to undertake 200 hours of unpaid work.
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