Man who fitted hidden camera in ex-wife's home and attached tracking device to her vehicle is given jail sentence for 'sinister' behaviour
A man who fitted a hidden camera in his ex-wife's home and used cable ties to attach a tracking device to her vehicle has been given an eight months jail sentence for his "sinister" behaviour.
Shaun Dougan (40), formerly with an address listed as Ballynafie Road outside Ahoghill but now given as Clooney Road near the village, was told by District Judge Nigel Broderick: "I cannot imagine a worse case of stalking".
The defendant admitted the charge which happened between February and April last year. He was sentenced at Antrim Magistrate Court, sitting in Ballymena on Tuesday (June 17), with his ex-wife watching on from the public gallery.
A prosecutor said the woman found a tracking device on her vehicle last April and believed it had been placed there by her ex-husband.
In other incidents last year Dougan had accessed an Instagram account and had read private messages. The "irate" defendant arrived at her door and used a number of derogatory terms and threatened to disclose messages to work colleagues and others.
The screenshots were then shared with people including her work colleagues. The complainant believed this was done in an attempt to "damage her career". She had been left "distressed" by the incidents.
The vehicle tracking device was found on April 6 and on April 7 she found an unfamiliar plug connected to her living room TV which was attached to a box which read 'Blink Module 2' which was hidden under the TV cabinet.
A camera was then found on top of a kitchen cupboard, "pointing up towards the ceiling," and had tape placed over the light.
A defence barrister said the defendant had "over-reacted" following the breakdown of the relationship but is "entirely remorseful". Dougan had spent some time in custody on remand.
The barrister said the defendant, who the court heard works in his family's furniture business, had acted in a way which was "entirely unjustifiable".
Judge Broderick said he had read a very detailed and "thoughtful" victim impact statement. He said Dougan's offending had a "profound effect" on his ex-wife and had "encroached" on her work.
The judge said that even when the complainant had gone to work there was "no respite from your invasive behaviour".
Judge Broderick said: "I remember when this case first came to the court how sinister it was by attaching a tracking device to the victim's car and the insertion of cameras into her home. I can't imagine a worse case of stalking."
As well as the jail term a five-year Restraining Order was also put in place.