Lisburn retired nurse sent her ex abusive text messages which left him distressed and upset, court hears

Heather Dowie, 59, whose address was given as Kesh Road in Lisburn, appeared before Lisburn Magistrates Court for sentencing, having previously been found guilty of the charge of the improper use of public electronic communications network.

She was found guilty in her absence after she failed to appear in court for the contest.

The court heard that on May 17, 2024, the injured party made a report to police that his ex-partner had been messaging him abusive messages on WhatsApp since April 2022.

It was also stated that the messaging carried on past the date of the report to the police.

The injured party alleged that messages included comments that his children didn’t love him, that he was “just a sperm donor”, and that he should “go and have another heart failure”.

It was said that the messages left the injured party distressed and upset.

A defence lawyer told the court the defendant, who is a retired nurse, has mobility issues, which is why she did not appear before the court for the contest and failed to attend the probation service meetings to allow for a pre-sentence report to be compiled.

He continued: “She appears before the court with no criminal record.

"Her offending has to be viewed through the prism of an acrimonious marriage. That is not an excuse but to put some context.”

District Judge Rosie Watters said that she had concluded that the defendant “hasn’t taken the whole thing seriously”.

Ms Watters imposed a custodial sentence of four months, suspended for two years.