Man who stalked his former partner and threatened to have her workmate's children shot jailed

Jonathan Harley, 45, was jailed for 22 months. Credit: North Wales Police

A woman who was stalked by her ex-partner after she left him, "begged the court" to protect her from him, during her witness statement.

Jonathan Harley, 45, was jailed for 22 months at Mold Crown Court after he admitted stalking against Victoria Mulvihil and two counts of sending malicious communications to two other people she knew. Harley, from Deeside Lane, Sealand, and Ms Mulvihil met in 2019, the court heard. They began a relationship but it soon soured. She left him in July 2022 but the defendant "did not take the split well".

Mold Crown Court heard how he kept messaging and calling his former partner, even if she blocked his numbers and threatened to have her workmate's children shot.

Mold Crown Court Credit: Dave Thompson/PA Wire

Ms Mulvihil worked as a driver at a Cambridgeshire farm but once a mystery caller rang up asking about her private life there. The defendant rang to falsely claim Ms Mulvihil had been on her phone while driving a tractor, the court heard.Then last October Harley also rang a woman at the farm who was quite cross that he managed to get through. He rang another couple with one concluding Harley was "psychotic" and possibly under the influence of drugs.

In a victim statement, Ms Mulvihil "begged the court" to protect her from Harley.

She believes her ex-partner will never leave her alone and said her self-esteem has suffered, she has had to have counselling and has isolated herself.

Mold Crown Court hear Ms Mulvihil left the defendant in July 2022 he "did not take the split well".

She explained: "Jonathan will never ever stop. He's not bothered by the police or the courts.

"He does not care about the consequences."Oliver Saddington, defending, described his own client as a "resentful stalker". When confronted with recordings of his messages he had asked his barrister to switch them off.But the defendant appreciates his behaviour was invasive and wrong.

He had met Ms Mulvihil after losing his father and gone on anti-depressants to help cope with the bereavement but they made things worse, said Mr Saddington.He lives on a farm with his mother and has a "deep love of nature and being outdoors". His livestock would suffer if he were sent to prison, said the defence counsel.

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