MAN JAILED FOR STALKING ESTRANGED WIFE
Darren Lambert-King received a community order after persistently messaging his ex-wife and creating a fake social media profile using her identity on a swingers website.However, just two days after the order, the 30-year-old resumed his harassment by being seen outside his former partner’s workplace.
The woman, accompanied by a male friend for safety, was cornered by Lambert-King, who blocked her car’s path with his motorcycle.
When the male attempted to retrieve the motorcycle keys, Lambert-King pushed him aside.
Fearing for her safety, the woman stayed inside the vehicle and contacted police as Lambert-King began kicking the car.
Represented at Southampton Crown Court, Lambert-King, of Shetland Close, Totton, was sentenced to 18 months in jail.
The court heard his stalking began after their brief marriage ended.
Prosecutor Siobhan Lindsey stated that the harassment started when his ex-wife flew back early from a trip to Tenerife due to his controlling behaviour, which included preventing her from going to the toilet alone.
Following the breakup, she told him to leave her alone, but he continued to appear outside her workplace, send her social media messages, and operated a fake account on a swingers website to send unwelcome messages.
He also sent multiple social media requests under false names in an attempt to contact her.
Despite a prior 18-month community order in December for harassment, Lambert-King was spotted outside her workplace just two days later.
Prosecutor Lindsey described the victim as feeling depressed, suicidal, harassed, and anxious.
She had relied on lifts everywhere and had to move house for her safety.
Defence lawyer Mark Florida-James explained that Lambert-King struggled with rejection and was distressed by his mother’s death last year.
Lambert-King, who has four previous convictions related to stalking former partners, pleaded guilty to multiple charges including harassment, assault, criminal damage, and breaching his community order.
Judge Nicholas Rowland remarked that his actions represented an escalation in violence and imposed an indefinite restraining order preventing him from contacting her or approaching within 100 meters of her home or workplace.
