A real estate agent who told a co-worker to kill themself and threatened others with rape and violence has been forced to confront the consequences of his "deplorable" actions.
Adrian Bruno, 39, is due to be sentenced at Burwood Local Court on Monday over multiple charges of using a carriage service to menace, harass or offend after sending a series of intimidating emails to his colleagues.
"Since the offender left employment, my colleagues and I were subject to an ongoing campaign of violence," one of his former colleagues told the court.
"This deplorable behaviour was not a momentary lapse in judgment.
"It was a deliberate, calculated and prolonged intention to terrorise and cause harm."
Bruno sent emails with a "vicious insistence" that a junior member of staff kill themself, while other correspondence included threats of rape and violent death, she said.
The emails put the woman on edge, fuelling her anxiety and panic attacks, and impacting her sense of security and mental health.
They also led the single mother to bar her children from attending certain activities unless she was there, out of fear for their safety.
Before entering the courtroom to plead guilty to multiple charges in April, Bruno read from his Bible.
But his former colleague said this would not be enough to atone for what he had done.
"You thought you were smarter than everyone else and wouldn't get caught, but that was clearly not the case," she said.
"The depraved actions and words cannot be washed away with a few verses from the Bible."
Bruno's lawyer accepted the contents of his client's messages were serious, and said it was concerning and distressing to hear about the impact on his co-workers.
But she noted the 39-year-old had not followed through and committed acts of violence.
Bruno's letter of apology, character testimonials and information about his mental health were handed to Judge Christopher Halburd in preparation for sentencing on Monday afternoon.
Bruno's lawyer stressed her client has a long-standing psychiatric history.
Many of the menacing messages were sent in the mornings when he may have failed to take his medication, the court was told.
His lawyer pushed for a community-based sentence to allow him to continue getting the help he needed.
