A man who had previously been convicted of harassment has once again been made the subject of a restraining order after repeatedly attempting to contact his victim.
36-year-old Clive George Inch of Watery Lane, Newchurch, appeared before Isle of Wight Magistrates following incidents that saw him contact the woman – who he had previously been found guilty of harassing – on Facebook.
Crown Prosecutor, Ann Smout, told the court that Inch had sent a friend request to the aggrieved on Christmas Day 2020 – just days after his previous restraining order expired. He then retracted the friend request but went on to send messages via Facebook messenger from several different accounts.
Oscar Vincent, defending, said that Inch – who had never had any relationship or formal connection with his younger victim – claimed that he had made the approach in order to ‘clear the air’ and reassure his victim that there would be no repeat of his previous behaviour. One of the messages sent read ‘Sorry for what happened, I hope you are okay’.
By way of a victim statement, the aggrieved said that she felt anxious when in Ryde due to knowing he had resided there for a period, and felt uncomfortable at work.
A second charge of Criminal Damage was also heard by Magistrates following an incident at Fellowship House in Ryde, where Inch had broken glass in a door and destroyed a ceiling tile after punching it.
For the Probation Service, Ellie Hards told the court that Inch’s Offender Manager had concerns about his engagement with an existing community order and had assessed him as posing a medium risk.
Inch was handed a 12 week custodial sentence suspended for 12 months, alongside a 2-year restraining order banning him from contacting the woman in any way and preventing him from attending her place of work. He was also ordered to pay £200 in compensation to the Salvation Army for the damage caused, alongside £85 in costs.
Give him a inch, and he’ll take a mile
This will not stop the woman feeling stressed, she will always be looking over her shoulder, this man is clearly unbalanced and should have been referred to a mental health assessment…
Yep, good shout as always,the same thing happened to me,and I went to prison 8 times in 2 years, I never hurt no one,only myself! And the taxpayer!