A mum who was advertised on a swinging website just weeks after turning down a bedsheet proposal has spoken out about how one man managed to destroy her life in a matter of months.
Louise McManaman, from Rainford, began seeing Ian Blackburn in November 2021 before ending the relationship in January 2022. After she ended the relationship, Blackburn proposed to her using bedsheets that were displayed on the East Lancs Road, previously reported in the ECHO.
What followed was months of stalking, which has led to Louise removing her business from the internet and listing her house for sale in an attempt to distance herself from her ex-partner. Blackburn then proceeded to stalk and list Louise's information on a website called 'Fab Swingers' which led to her receiving a number of explicit images from strangers, as heard in court on Wednesday, February 8.
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Earlier this week, Blackburn, 62, of Riding Hill Road, Knowsley, appeared in Liverpool Magistrates Court where he was sentenced after pleading guilty to stalking involving serious alarm or distress last month.
As district judge Wendy Lloyd sentenced him, she labelled his actions those of a "jilted 12-year-old" who had become "obsessed" with his ex. Louise sat in the public gallery as her ex-partner was sentenced to six months imprisonment, suspended for 18 months and a 10-year restraining order meaning he cannot go anywhere near where he suspects Ms McManaman may be.
Blackburn was also told he must attend a building better relationships programme, 15 rehabilitation sessions and 200 hours of unpaid work.
Louise told the ECHO: "It started last year when I had a short relationship with him. I'm a dog groomer and I started seeing him. [After the break up] there was the bed sheet proposal on the East Lancs. Then, because I said no, there was a series of attacks on me, my daughter and my business.
"There were nails on my drive, stalking my house in the early hours, people following me, he would wait on his motorbike watching me. 40-60 attempts to book in different dogs to be groomed.
"He had my business on a swingers website. I was getting people coming to my door asking for sexual favours."
The court heard that Louise was forced to list her home on the market and relocate her business after living in fear. Although the defence claimed Blackburn was remorseful for his actions and willing to work with the rehabilitation service, Louise has spoken out about how the months that followed her ending the relationship saw her living in fear.
She said: "I've been living in fear for a year and it has been hard. You're just living in downright fear. It's almost destroyed my life and I just want justice for what he has done to me. [People] should know what he has done."
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