GUMTREE STALKER WHO THREATENED SEVERAL WOMEN IS SENTENCED
A man who contacted a woman on Gumtree and threatened to kill her with a chainsaw has avoided jail.Michael Curling, 48, hounded a total of six victims he met on the online selling site between July 2014 and 2017 from his then-home in Thornliebank.
Curling harassed a 46-year-old who was selling an item from her flat.
He asked her for a date but was told to leave her alone.
Fiscal Lauren Donnelly told Glasgow Sheriff Court: "He told her that he would come round with a chainsaw and that she was dead." Curling had earlier contacted a 33-year-old woman who requested free furniture for her flat.
He offered her glass and kitchenware before they agreed to meet at a Lidl car park in Barrhead.
Miss Donnelly said: "He sent continuous messages to the woman asking to go to her home for tea or coffee.
Curling also asked if she wanted to go for a drive in his car." The woman refused and told Curling that she had a boyfriend.
He replied: "He can't be much of a boyfriend if he lets you move into a flat with nothing." The woman was "alarmed" by Curling's behaviour which continued.
He sent messages calling her a "slag" and threatening to drag her out of her house and batter her.
Curling later claimed he "gets angry when drinking." He then met the woman in an attempt to get her to leave him alone.
However, Curling sent further threats including that "boys would do her" and the matter was reported to the police.
A 29-year-old woman posted an ad for a kitchen table on Gumtree and was contacted by Curling who again asked her out and then sent threatening messages saying he knew her address.
The same pattern repeated with other women, involving unwanted contact, threats, and abusive language.
Curling, now of Darnley, was not arrested until 2020.
He pleaded guilty to five charges of stalking and one for behaving in a threatening or abusive manner.
He represented himself but claimed at sentencing that he felt his life was in danger since pleading guilty and denied any sexual intent, stating he was "not that kind of person." Sheriff Gerard Bonnar considered there was a significant sexual element and placed him on the sex offenders register for five years.
He also imposed two years of supervision and tagged for seven months between 8pm and 6am.
A spokesperson for Gumtree stated: "We do not tolerate the use of our platform by bad actors and are pleased to see justice has been brought in this case.
We strongly encourage anyone who has suspicions or concerns about a user to report it to us immediately via our helpdesk, so our dedicated safety team can investigate and take action to keep our community safe.
This could include blacklisting the offending user or working with law enforcement to secure convictions.
The safety of our users remains our absolute priority, and you can find more information on our safety hub online at www.gumtree.com/info/safety."
