July 30th 2024.
Martin Gunn, a 51-year-old man, has been sentenced to 20 months in jail for stalking his victim. The court heard that he met the woman on the dating app Hinge in March 2023 and started harassing her soon after. Despite her insisting on being friends, Gunn did not take it well and continued to pursue her against her wishes.
In his relentless pursuit, Gunn even applied to join the same gym as his victim and moved near her house. He even went as far as texting her, trying to convince her that he wasn't a stalker. However, his application to the gym was denied after the woman asked the staff not to let him join. But that didn't stop Gunn from loitering around the area.
A month after the victim purchased a new Mercedes, Gunn followed suit and bought the same car. He would often drive past her house, leaving flowers and notes, which eventually led to his arrest. However, even after being released on bail, Gunn continued to harass his victim. He even filmed her and approached her at a local coffee shop, which resulted in him being charged with stalking involving fear of violence.
Initially, Gunn had pleaded guilty, but later changed his plea to not guilty, claiming that he received bad legal advice. However, the judge presiding over the case, Judge Jane Rowley, stated that he was trying to downplay his actions and that deep down, he knew what he did was wrong. Despite his attempts to minimize his actions, Gunn was sentenced to 20 months in jail and given a seven-year restraining order.
In a similar incident in 2022, a woman named Hayley Smith discovered her stalker ex-boyfriend, Ben Gould, living in her loft. After calling the police, it was revealed that Gould had been living there for several days, and there were even buckets of urine left behind as evidence of his presence. He was on the run for 10 days before being found.
Gould pleaded guilty to stalking and was given a 20-week suspended sentence and a restraining order, which prohibited him from contacting Smith for three years. However, he violated the restraining order and continued to harass her. These incidents serve as a reminder of the lasting impact stalking can have on victims and the importance of taking it seriously.
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