Terror of Stalker Victim as stalker goes free(UK)
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Evening Standard
Terror of victim as stalker goes free
A stalker who hounded a young medical student for two years in a crazed campaign of harassment walked free from court today.
Now police are renewing their watch on the home of the student who has been bombarded with more than 500 disturbing letters, received scores of phone calls and saw posters in the street accusing her of being a witch.
As Mark Colley was released from court, 24-year-old Jessica O'Rourke said: "How bad does stalking have to get? I can hardly believe it."
Today His Honour Judge Rose imposed a sentence of six months - although he had powers to jail Colley for five years - for breaching a court order. Colley was released because he has already served the equivalent of six months' jail after being arrested outside Miss O'Rourke's home in the early hours, last July.
The judge imposed the sentence despite observing: "There are matters about this case that are profoundly disturbing."
Colley had been sent to Middlesex Guildhall Crown Court precisely because the stipendiary magistrate at Horseferry Road who heard the original case believed his sentencing powers were insufficient.
At earlier hearings Colley had claimed from the dock that he was a god. In one of many interruptions in court today he contented himself with the observation: "I am the greatest Freemason on the planet."
His obsession with Miss O'Rourke began two years ago when he met her through a mutual friend one boozy Sunday lunchtime.
She talked to him for an hour or so, not realising she was about to become the focus of his crazy and sometimes sinister ideas. He bombarded her with letters, sometimes 18 pages of tiny handwriting. He put up posters in the street describing her as a witch and banged on the door of her west London home in the early hours.
He sent a flatmate a letter asking for her underwear and copied her voice from her answering machine and put it on a CD with a cover of a naked woman on it. For the last year Miss O'Rourke has had to be escorted from her home by police and has had a panic alarm installed. The campaign against her became so bad she considered moving and changing her name but police persuaded her not to.
"Right from the start that lunchtime I realised he was weird, that he wasn't all there," she said. "He was going through his divorce and we talked about his kids. Four days later he rang saying he had VIP tickets to an Oasis concert.
"All I did was to be friendly and talk to him. I never gave him any encouragement. I never accepted anything from him."
Mr Colley, 34, described himself as a record producer. She says he is a painter and decorator.
"Most of what he wrote was just mad twaddle," she said. "He called me his 'Princess of Darkness' and said he was building a time machine. He wrote saying, 'Ever since I have met you aliens have spoken to me in the street'. It was crazy, but he has a very sinister satanic side as well."
Paul Feldberg, prosecuting, said Miss O'Rourke's relationship with a boyfriend had collapsed under the strain of the harassment. At one stage Colley even rang from prison. His letters talked of "friends from above" and told of 25 space ships flying around the moon that he was in contact with.
Police described today's case as the kind recent anti-harassment laws were designed to prevent. Colley was jailed several times for breaching restraining orders Miss O'Rourke obtained but was given bail and within hours was back outside her flat.
Today Judge Rose told Colley: "We are seriously concerned about this. If you contact this lady again or attempt to contact her or harass her we can send you to prison for up to five years and we will.
"This lady must and will be protected from you."