PENSIONER JAILED FOR STALKING HIS FEMALE NEIGHBOUR.
Stephen Crossley, who resides in South Craig, Windermere, compelled the victim to install surveillance cameras outside her property and increased the height of her garden fences.The 68-year-old offender was sentenced at South Cumbria Magistrates’ Court after admitting to harassment without causing fear, alarm, or distress, along with breaching a stalking protection order.
Prosecutor Graeme Tindall provided details regarding the incidents that took place between May 15 and May 25.
He explained that Crossley had been subject to a three-year stalking protection order issued on January 20.
Previously, Crossley had received a sentence for actions including sending handwritten letters to his neighbor, composing a song for her, peering over her garden wall using a mirror, and entering her garden without permission.
The court order imposed seven restrictions, notably prohibiting him from contacting the woman directly or indirectly and from approaching her property or garden.
The trial revealed that until May 9, there were no issues, but that day the victim observed Crossley walking along her footpath.
The prosecution noted that the offending escalated when Crossley delivered a birthday card addressed to her mother on May 15, which included a message calling her the worthy recipient’s number one admirer.
On May 23, Crossley violated the stalking order by approaching the victim’s address.
The following day, a friend informed her that Crossley was seen looking into her property from his upstairs window.
In her victim statement, the woman expressed feeling uneasy in her own home, citing fears for her safety and describing feelings of fear and stress prompted by Crossley’s behaviors.
She noted new security measures, like CCTV cameras and taller fences, to deter him and expressed a desire to be invisible to him.
She emphasized that his unwelcome contact had caused her anxiety and stressed the importance of community protection.
During mitigation, solicitor Karen Templeton explained that Crossley’s actions stemmed from mental health issues, describing him as highly vulnerable with significant difficulties.
She stated that his offending coincided with a period when he was not taking prescribed medication and that he was receiving support from an early intervention team.
Ms Templeton highlighted Crossley’s belief that he would not cope in prison and claimed he felt hated by his neighbors.
She urged the court to give him a final chance, arguing that sending him to prison would be destabilizing.
Following a 20-minute discussion, magistrates decided there were no grounds for suspending the sentence.
Crossley was sentenced to five months in prison, as the chair of the bench, John Lloyd, concluded that the offences were too serious for alternative penalties.
