Allandale man bombarded former fiancee with countless calls, texts and e-mails after being dumped

Robert Liddell (24) appeared at Falkirk Sheriff Court last Thursday having admitted engaging in a course of behaviour that was abusive of his ex partner at his 31 Allandale Cottages, Allandale home between February 1 and March 8 last year.

Procurator fiscal depute Heather Galbraith said: “The accused and the witness had been in a relationship from September 2017 to November 2018 when the witness ended the relationship.

"He began to send numerous text messages and e-mails to the her. She did not reply. He also began calling her, requesting she contact him and to respond.

"He continually texted to say he loved her. One e-mail contained an explicit image of the witness which the accused had obtained during their relationship. This alarmed her as to what he might do with it.

"A further message received by the witness advised her the accused had transferred money into her bank account. The accused repeatedly requested her to visit him and gave her money for petrol.

"He also left messages for her on 13 different posts on Gumtree and said he would report her to Gumtree if she didn’t respond. He send her cards for Valentine’s Day to her home and work addresses.

"Between February 12 and February 23 the accused bombarded her with 15 e-mails a day, stating things like ‘love you’ and ‘miss you’, ‘in bed already?’, ‘love you – have you died?’, ‘I’m worried sick’.

"The witness contacted police.”

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Simon Hutchison, defence solicitor, said there was nothing abusive about Liddell’s messages and he had actually bought her a very expensive engagement ring and they had organised a wedding for August last year, so he “didn’t understand” why she had “cut him off”.

Mr Hutchison added: "This relationship was on and off through a lot of 2019. She would stop contacting him then get back in touch with him again. The contact stops and he has no idea why.

"He helped her start up a business, did work to the premises – he had decorated it. He felt very hurt she had simply cut him off.”

Sheriff Derek Livingston said it appeared Liddell was trying to blackmail the woman by saying he could report her to Gumtree if she did not contact him.

Mr Hutchison responded: “It’s nothing like blackmail – that’s a very harsh way of putting it. That is the only thing he said that was out of turn – it was simply a way of trying to contact her.

"When the matter came to the attention of the police he stopped trying to contact her – he has completely moved on.”

Mr Hutchison said Liddell had no intention of doing anything with the intimate image he sent to the woman.

The court heard this was not Liddell’s first domestic offence.

Sheriff Livingston placed Liddell on a supervised community payback order for two years with the condition he attend the Caledonian domestic abuse programme. He also made him subject to a non harassment order not to contact the woman for 12 months.

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