April 30th 2024.
Gavin Harper, a 45-year-old man, was on a mission to uncover the truth about his wife's alleged affair with a married colleague. He had been suspicious for a while and decided to take matters into his own hands. After secretly placing a tracker on his wife's car, he found her and the colleague, Andrew McLullich, 42, in a compromising situation at a Screwfix car park in Birkenhead, Merseyside on February 16, 2021. Gavin, a former police constable, used his mobile phone to film the pair who were naked from the waist down. It was a shocking discovery for him and he couldn't contain his emotions, allegedly shouting, "I've got you on film sh***ing my wife."
Gavin's actions did not go unnoticed and he was charged with aggravated stalking, including secretly bugging his wife's car, listening to her conversations, tracking her movements, and taking her phone without permission. This was seen as a culmination of his obsessive and intrusive behavior towards his wife, Stephanie Glynn, 40, from December 2020 to February 2021. Gavin and Stephanie had met as police officers and were in a six-year relationship before getting married in 2018. However, Stephanie left their home in December 2020 after growing close to her work mentor, Andrew McLullich, who was an acting inspector at the time and also her former supervising sergeant.
During the trial, Gavin claimed that he only struck Andrew in self-defense, but the jury found him guilty of aggravated stalking. His intention was to gather evidence of the affair and present it to the police, but instead, he ended up causing distress and embarrassment to his wife and her colleague. On Monday, Judge David Potter sentenced Gavin to two years in jail, suspended for two years. The judge acknowledged that Gavin's actions were fueled by his obsession with proving his wife's affair and destroying Andrew's career, with little regard for Stephanie's feelings. He also noted that the incident at Screwfix was "rash, foolish, selfish, and unprofessional."
Despite the seriousness of the offense, the judge decided to suspend the sentence due to the significant impact it would have on Gavin's elderly parents and youngest son. Gavin's barrister also argued that he would lose his job and be unable to make mortgage payments if he were to be jailed. The judge acknowledged that there was another side to Gavin, who had no previous convictions and had suffered from mental trauma due to his Army service and his dismissal from the police force in 2015. Gavin had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and had also become depressed after his dismissal for gross misconduct.
Gavin's defense lawyer, Suzanne Payne, stated that his behavior towards Stephanie was out of character and was a result of the circumstances at the time. A pre-sentence report also indicated that Gavin presented a low risk of reoffending but a medium risk of harm to Stephanie and Andrew. Stephanie, who is now divorced, had been severely affected by Gavin's stalking and testified that she constantly looked over her shoulder, changed her routes to work, and underwent counseling. In light of this, the judge issued Gavin with a seven-year restraining order from contacting or approaching Stephanie and Andrew.
In addition to the restraining order, Gavin was also ordered to perform 200 hours of unpaid work and complete 20 days of rehabilitation. The Crown decided not to pursue another charge of unlawful wounding against Gavin after the jury could not reach a verdict on that charge. The judge concluded by saying that the events at Screwfix did not reflect well on any of the people involved and that it would continue to haunt them for many years. He also described Gavin's actions as a "further gross example of stalking" and emphasized the serious distress it caused to Stephanie.
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