Norwich woman left paranoid by stalking of former partner

David Curtin, 28, of Wherry Road in Norwich, admitted stalking following the break-up of their relationship in October 2022.

Norwich Magistrates’ Court heard he had bombarded her with unwanted phone calls and text messages and contacted her family and friends.

The gas engineer created fake social media accounts using aliases and also paid almost £3,000 into her bank account without approval.

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Detailing the “debilitating” impact his victim, the mother of young children, said she had to leave her job because she was too fearful and he knew the location of the business. 

David Curtin used fake account and aliases to continue to message his terrified former partner (Image: Getty Images)

“I’m constantly watching and worried what he will do next. It has left me paranoid - I shouldn’t have to live like this,” she added. 

Richard Mann, mitigating, said: “A lot of this is him misguidedly trying to put their relationship back together.”

Magistrates sentenced him to a 12 month community order including 250 hours of unpaid work and an alcohol monitoring tag. 

They also imposed a three year restraining order banning him from contacting his victim or entering part of Reepham.