Co Antrim man (20) told ex-girlfriend to 'hang' herself when a relationship ended after a month
A man told his ex-girlfriend to 'hang' herself after a one month relationship with him ended, a court heard.
Callum Devine (20), of Sixmilewater Mill Close in Antrim town, pleaded guilty to a charge of 'persistent improper use' of a public electronic communications network 'for the purpose of causing annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety'. He committed the offence at a time last year.
Antrim Magistrates Court, sitting in Ballymena on Tuesday, was told that on one day the defendant phoned his ex-girlfriend 65 times. The calls began at 2.30am.
He left several voicemails and there were also Facebook Messenger messages. In some of the phone calls he was shouting and he "called her names".
The court was told the defendant said he would "fight the injured party's father" and "post pictures on Facebook".
A prosecutor said the female answered a few of the calls and told the defendant to leave her alone. "The pair had been in a relationship for approximately one month. She officially ended things between them and blocked him on Snapchat.
"She told the defendant to move on as the relationship was over. The defendant became irate and began shouting at her over the phone repeatedly," the court was told.
When she didn't answer calls he left several voicemails. Police listened to them and he could be heard shouting abuse at the victim "calling her various names and telling her to go hang herself", said the prosecutor.
The defendant had a previous record. A defence barrister said the defendant struggled with "rational decision making". She said the defendant was remorseful.
District Judge Nigel Broderick said it had been "totally reprehensible" behaviour and the things said were "quite repulsive".
The defendant was given a four months prison term, suspended for two years and a Restraining Order was also put in place.