A jilted boyfriend “terrified” his ex by calling her up to 20 times a day after she broke off their relationship, a court has heard.
Slawomir Pioch, 34, appeared in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court and admitted persistently contacting his former partner and telling her on several occasions that he would “make her life hell”.
The building supervisor also made numerous threats, harassed the woman and followed her to the supermarket between November 1 2020 and February 5 last year.
Police warned Pioch to stay away from the woman but he continued harassing her for months.
Pioch pleaded guilty to one charge of behaving in an abusive nature by persistently contacting the woman and loitering outside her home.
Accused told ex he would follow her in his car
Fiscal depute David Rogers told the court that Pioch’s former partner answered some of the withheld calls and that he told her he “wanted to make her life hell by calling her and waiting outside of her building”.
He added: “This caused his ex-partner to feel threatened and scared to go outside.
“The accused continued to contact his ex-partner through email and Facebook messages, which contained similar threats.
“On one afternoon in November, the accused’s ex-partner’s housemate was within their flat when he looked out his window and observed the accused loitering on the street.
“A few weeks later, his ex-partner received a phone call from a withheld number which she answered and there was an argument about the ownership of the couple’s dog.
“Following this phone call the accused was spoken to by the police about his conduct and was issued a warning not to contact her.
“However, the accused continued to make contact via telephone and email.”
In December 2020 the woman received an email from Pioch that stated: “I will follow you in my car in order to find out where the dog is.”
The police were contacted and Pioch was issued with a further warning.
Yet, less than two weeks later the 34-year-old sent the woman another email stating: “I see you close to Lidl.”
The woman told police that she was “terrified” as she regularly used that supermarket.
‘He wasn’t deliberately trying to cause her fear or alarm’
Defence agent Michael Burnett told the court that following the end of the relationship Pioch was only “interested in the dog, he wasn’t interested in his former partner”.
He added: “It was that he felt he should have ownership of this dog and he wasn’t deliberately trying to cause her fear or alarm.
“But he accepts he was reckless in what he was doing and told police he was ‘really sorry’ for all the things he’d done.”
Sheriff Philip Mann him: “This kind of behaviour cannot be tolerated and I hope you understand that.
“I’m told there is no longer any relationship of any sort and you have no previous convictions – but I have to reflect the seriousness of this offence.”
Sheriff Mann fined Picoch, of Broomhouse Road, Edinburgh, £1,000 and put a non-harassment order in place, meaning he cannot approach his former partner for 18 months.
For all the latest court cases in Aberdeen, as well as the latest crime and breaking incidents, join our new Facebook group HERE.
