Lurgan man who sent 'nasty' messages to his ex is told he is likely to go to jail if he doesn't comply with Craigavon court orders

Michael Gerard Austin, aged 42, from Old Portadown Road, Lurgan, appeared in the dock at Craigavon Magistrates Court.

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He faced two charges linked to sending unwanted messages to his ex-partner. One charge accused Austin of the persistent improper use of a public electronic communications network between December 8, 2023 and December 1, 2024 for the purpose of annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety.

A second charge accused Austin of the improper use of public electronic communications between December 22, 2023 and November 25, 2024, sending messages or other matters which were of a menacing character.

District Judge Michael Ranaghan said a pre-sentence report was attached to his papers.

"There was some issue about posting,” said the district judge asking for an explanation and their relevance to sentencing.

The court heard posts Austin made on social media raised concerns.

A prosecutor told the court that on Monday, December 2 last year, the victim went to Lurgan police station about ‘ongoing issues’ she had with her ex-partner, the defendant.

She told police that since December 8, 2023, Austin engaged in a course of conduct, taking place primarily over WhatsApp and phone calls, sending her “a slew of unwanted messages” and messages she perceived to be “nasty”.

The prosecutor said the upshot of these messages led to her feeling emotionally harmed and annoyed by the “continual calling and messaging”. The prosecuting barrister added that she said Austin was making allegations which were false “that she was having affairs with men who were in relationships”.

On November 26 last year when the victim blocked the defendant on social media, he arrived at her address and “caused her some fear and alarm”.

"The messages, we would say, show an ongoing pattern of fixated, obsessive and unwanted communication,” said the prosecutor, adding that Austin did admit the offences during interview “although equivocated over some of the issues”.

He informed the court there is an interim restraining order in place and asked that the district judge extend it for two years.

District Judge Michael Ranaghan said the domestic violence aggravator has been attached in relation to the protection from harassment and the Communications Act.

Austin’s barrister, Mr Conor Lunny, said the Restraining Order was never going to be challenged.

"You will see in the pre-sentence report the context of this offending and the struggles that Mr Austin had at the time,” said the barrister.

"He is a man who might never recover from those addictions but certainly he has made great strides to tackle them,” said Mr Lunny, pointing the district judge to pages one and two, referencing the various facilities including a fairly long spell in Liverpool to “tackle that issue”.

Mr Lunny, who said he had known the defendant for “quite some time” said: “He presents as a man from good stock. He is an intelligent individual, and references to university degrees. That swings both ways and I accept that can be a double-edged sword.”

He pointed out that the timing of most of these messages was late at night when he “had over-indulged”.

Mr Lunny said he “should have known better” and not allowed ‘his emotions to get the better of him’.

"His background is an industrious one. He has been off work most recently these last few weeks as these proceedings have had an impact on him. He can’t wait to get back to work again.

"Alongside that long-standing work ethic he has achieved one Masters degree in psychology and is studying already for his second one with a view to developing and creating an app for young people who are going through the very same issues that he went through, to make access to support a lot more easy,” said Mr Lunny.

"He is not trying to victimise himself. He accepted in interview, for the most part, his guilt albeit at a late stage,” said the barrister, adding that relationship has been “damaged irreparably”.

"There are children involved. It’s a difficult and sensitive issue. One can only hope that Mr Austin doesn’t indulge in this type of behaviour again,” said Mr Lunny. “He knows he needs help. He knows he needs support.”

District Judge Ranaghan asked about the defendant’s record which appeared to be for motoring offences. Mr Lunny said Austin had a caution for possession of a Class A and B drugs.

The barrister said this is indictive of the circumstances he found himself in and committed around the same time as the current offences before the court.

"It really harks back to the dark place he had allowed himself to go to. Mr Austin knows he is never out of the woods. He will always be a recovering addict,” said Mr Lunny adding that the Probation Service made “some efforts” to verify his various claims.

The barrister said there was no opposition to the Restraining Order. “The domestic aggravator has to be accepted,” he said.

District Judge Michael Ranaghan said Austin will get some credit though it was a late plea to the charges. “They are significant offences with that domestic violence aggravator attached and, really sadly, two young children in the background. They should be your focus if they are not. To avoid any conflict between parents of children is the main driver of any court.”

He sentenced Austin to a Combination Order including one year of Probation supervision with 90 hours Community Service. The district judge warned Austin that if he breached that the likelihood would be custody.

He also granted a Restraining Order starting on Wednesday April 9. "I hope there is no repeat of this behaviour of any type,” he said.