MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO STALKING AND COERCIVE BEHAVIOUR
Jonathon Harvey admitted to charges of stalking and controlling or coercive behavior after engaging in a three-year campaign of abusive acts toward his former partner.The man, formerly residing in Bristol, was sentenced to 27 months in prison and received a 10-year restraining order following his latest offenses.
During a hearing at Truro Crown Court, prosecutor Mary McCarthy detailed how Harvey's recent relationship initially progressed smoothly but eventually turned violent.
She described a brutal assault committed after Harvey returned from a pub, during which he struck the victim multiple times in the face.
When she attempted to contact the police regarding the assault, Harvey took her phone away.
Throughout the relationship, Harvey coerced the victim to take explicit photographs for blackmail, repeatedly accessed her social media profiles with different accounts, which led her to delete her account, block her friends and family, and threaten to involve social services for her children.
The court learned she tried to end the relationship several times, with the last attempt in January of that year, but Harvey responded with thousands of threatening calls and messages.
Messages included images of Harvey holding an axe and with a noose around his neck, along with threats to kill himself and visit the victim’s relatives.
Eventually, he carried out this threat.
He also violated a non-molestation order and committed offenses while on bail.
Additionally, Harvey breached the conditions of a post-sentence supervision order related to prior offenses against other partners.
Defense lawyer Martin Pearce stated Harvey was remorseful and acknowledged the relationship had ended.
Pearce explained that Harvey had been on remand for 20 weeks, during which he behaved well and was considered a model prisoner.
The judge, Recorder Mathew Turner, commented that the offenses spanned an extended period and included attempts to degrade the victim.
While noting Harvey's previous offenses, the judge acknowledged efforts to address problematic thinking and recognised Harvey's capacity for good work despite his criminal history.
