Portadown man who falsely told ex-girlfriend he put a tracker on her car, pleads guilty to harassment, Craigavon court hears
A Co Armagh man, who falsely claimed he had installed a tracker on his ex-girlfriend’s car after meeting her in a bar after they broke up, has pleaded guilty to harassment.
The 23-year-old appeared before Craigavon Magistrates Court to contest the charges.
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However Jake Dale, from Lisnagrilly Hall, Portadown pleaded guilty to harassing the woman between February 23 and April 6, 2025.
Two other charges, including assault of a woman on April 6 last year and criminal damage to her mobile phone on the same date, were withdrawn by the prosecution.
The court heard the injured party attended Lurgan police station on April 6 last year telling police that following their break up after a ‘short’ relationship the defendant continued contacting her multiple times despite being told not to by the PSNI.
She said he ‘threatened to commit suicide should she not engage with him’.
The woman revealed that on April 5 both her and the defendant were socialising separately in The Courthouse Bar in Lurgan. On seeing her, the defendant approached the injured party and attempted to engage with her despite her not wishing to.
As a result, the injured party and her friends went to the Ashburn Hotel where the defendant followed them.
"There was an altercation whereby the injured party’s phone was thrown and an argument ensued,” said the prosecutor.
Her friends took the defendant home in their car as he was thrown out of the premises although the injured party was also in the car.
The defendant then became abusive and they had to put him out of the car. The defendant followed them to McDonald’s in Portadown where he told the injured party he had a tracker device on her car.
During interview, the defendant admitted saying that but said he hadn’t actually put a tracker on her car.
Dale’s barrister, Mr Aaron Thompson, said his client now totally accepts this relationship has ended and “the responsibility for the poor behaviour afterwards falls on him”.
"He really didn’t cope well with the end of the relationship,” said the barrister, adding that some of the charges were dropped by the prosecution.
“There was an incident about grabbing a phone and confronting another male whom his ex-partner had been with that night. He accepts that was all extremely poor behaviour.
"He accepted it at interview but it was just some of the very specific things he was struggling to admit,” said the barrister.
Mr Thompson said his client is not currently working as this case has had “a significant effect” on him but hopes to get out to work soon.
He urged the court to consider “something hanging over his head” rather than a prison sentence.
District Judge Michael Ranaghan said any offence of harassment is “by its nature very serious”.
"This is a series of events which were very distressing to your ex-partner. Relationships do end and when the other party wants you to walk away, you simply must walk away,” he said, granting a Restraining Order for one-year barring the defendant from contacting the injured party.
Dale was sentenced to three months in jail suspended for 12 months, with the district judge explaining there was an extra month added due to the domestic violence aggravator.