County Durham man admits 'disgraceful' stalking campaign

COUNTY DURHAM MAN ADMITS 'DISGRACEFUL' STALKING CAMPAIGN

A stalker bombarded a woman with sexual messages and requests on social media in a 'disgraceful' campaign which left victim feeling 'dirty'.

William Watt also threatened to publish intimate images of the woman - images he never had and left his victim questioning the motives of all men.

Newton Aycliffe Magistrates’ Court heard he sent repeated messages and friend requests on WhatsApp, Snapchat and Instagram.

The 32-year-old continued to try to contact the woman over a two-month period despite her not responding to any of his messages and trying to block his contact, the court was told.

Kathryn Wetherley, prosecuting, said the defendant sent a number of sexualised comments to the woman and made inappropriate references to other men.

She said: “She made it quite clear she didn't want any contact with him.

“She received a large number of messages on Snapchat which she didn’t respond to.

She then received even more messages on Snapchat and on WhatsApp later in December.

“In January, she received numerous friend requests on Instagram which she didn’t accept.

When she received the message about sexual images, she contacted the police.” In a victim impact statement, the woman said the messages had made her feel "dirty" and made her question the motives of all men.

Watt, of West Street in the village of Hett, County Durham, near Tudhoe pleaded guilty to stalking between December 1 last year and January 21.

Lucy Redshaw, mitigating, said her client has apologised for his actions and wanted to make it clear that he never had any sexual images of the woman.

“The messages were not sent daily or were particularly persistent,” she said.

“He has never bothered the court before and I don’t believe he will bother the court again – he is genuinely remorseful for his behaviour.” District Judge Steven Hood sentenced Watt to an 18-month community order and issued him with a two-year restraining order.