YORKSHIRE MAN WITH PARANOID SCHIZOPHRENIA JAILED FOR STALKING AND SENDING INDECENT IMAGES
A man who stalked three women by sending threatening and unusual messages, including a marriage proposal, and by visiting their homes has received a court sentence.Luke Grogan, aged 32, did not know his first victim personally but contacted her through Facebook under the pseudonym 'Howard Briggs' in the previous year’s November.
His messages were bizarre and persistent, asking her to marry him and sharing images such as a captioned pram reading 'Our Mowgli's first pram.' He also reached out to her family members and sent her pictures of her styled hair in curls with romantic comments like 'I love you with curly hair, it's not often you do it.' After recognizing his paranoid schizophrenia, which was associated with his criminal acts, she reported his behavior to police.
Grogan also appeared outside her home, questioning her and attempting to enter, which she feared might lead to violence.
Furthermore, he sent inappropriate images and videos of himself to another woman he had known in her teens, whom he hadn’t seen for ten years, and contacted a third woman by asking provocative questions and making inappropriate offers.
He pleaded guilty to two counts of stalking and one of sending indecent images.
The court was told about his 11 previous convictions for 17 offenses, including battery, reckless arson, and criminal damage.
The judge ordered that he be subject to a hospital order under section 37 of the Mental Health Act, taking into account his mental health issues, and issued restraining orders protecting the victims.
The court highlighted his remorse and acknowledged that his mental disorder contributed significantly to his offending, underlining that his behavior was partly driven by his mental health condition.
