‘He harassed and stalked me for six years’

JENNY WHITE in a Victim Impact Statement which she read to the court spoke of harassment being the worst kind of thief.

‘It steals from every aspect of your life, not just once, but over and over again’, she said.

‘Donal Cullen harassed and stalked me for almost six years. He destroyed my life, my life that I loved. My relationship with Jason and our plans to start a family, my job as a Citizen’s Information Officer, my time, my finances, but most of all he destroyed my health, my peace of mind and my trust in people.

‘My whole life has changed dramatically because of the actions of this man.

‘I experience constant anxiety, I am a nervous person now. Physically I suffer from isolation, withdrawal, a long term auto immune illness and depression.

Emotionally I have lost my self-confidence. I feel violated, demoralised and humiliated.

‘One year into this harassment my body started to give way because of the constant stress I was under. My immune system was breaking down. Prior to this harassment I was rarely sick. My medical records show this. On January 26, 2015, I was diagnosed with a debilitating auto immune disease brought on by chronic stress. My consultant explained that my body could no longer cope with the immense stress I was under.

‘My adrenal gland was exhausted from continually pumping adrenaline. My immune system broke down and began attacking my body instead. I attended two hospitals, Wexford Hospital and St James’s Hospital in Dublin, where they have a specialised immunology department. After running a series of tests, my consultant Professor Niall Conlon explained to me that there were five stages involved in developing cancer. Currently I am at stage 3. He said I was lucky that my immune system showed so many visible symptoms so that I could get treatment before it progressed to a stage 5.

‘Large, raw, itchy blisters broke out on my skin and random parts of my body swelled up, my eyes, lips, throat, legs, forehead. My hair fell out in clumps. Emergency hospital admissions became normal. My throat and tongue would swell making breathing difficult, so Jason and myself both had to learn how to use and carry an Epi Pen at all times.

‘For two years, 2015 and 2016, I was housebound. It was the most horrific time of my life. My consultant requested I take photographs as he had not seen the condition so bad before.

‘My home should have been my sanctuary. It wasn’t. Donal (Cullen) was everywhere. Before I got sick he knew what time I left for work at and made sure to be hanging around. He knew what time I came home for lunch, and what time I got home in the evening. He was always there. Outside the front of my apartment or outside my patio doors at the back, staring at me, trying to talk to me or giving me a copy of his poems. On my days off, he would wait until Jason went to work. Then he would call to my door. This could be two or three times in a morning. If I went outside, he suddenly appeared, and would approach me.

‘As his harassment increased so did my distress. When I got sick I was petrified of him calling to the house. I disconnected my doorbell but then he started to peer in the letterbox. Jason bought heavy duty sellotape and taped the letterbox shut. For the next two years I lived like a fugitive. My curtains were never open, my windows were never open. The window blinds were sellotaped to the wall so he could not see in. The postman in the area knew what was happening. They would leave our post in the depot and Jason would collect it.

‘Donal Cullen knew I was sick yet he continued his harassment and I was worried that my treatment would not work. One night when I was in hospital he put on Facebook that I was with him at the Strawberry Festival Ball.

‘I didn’t know when I would be well enough to return to work in the Citizens Advice Officer so I had to hand in my notice. My mortgage then went into arrears. Jason took out a second job at night time delivering takeaways to help pay the bills.

‘Donal Cullen’s obsession with me has ruined my life. I am not the Jenny White I was before this started. My mental and physical health got so bad that I was getting hysterical. I spent days crying, sobbing into convulsions. Jason was terrified seeing me like this. The first six months of treatment did not work. I was still living in torment. Our only option was to leave our home and rent a small apartment in a hidden location where I could build my strength and health again. Only the Gardai knew the address. My parents did not even know where I lived. Jason’s father and brothers did not know our location either. We moved into this apartment in October 2016. It wasn’t until March 2019 when I felt able to return to my home in Shingan and vacate the other apartment. This was due to Judge Alice Doyle ordering Cullen out of his apartment until the trial.

‘Financially I am in ruins. I have no job and my mortgage has been taken over by a vulture fund. I am trying to rebuild myself after being broken for so long. It’s difficult to work and have a normal life with an auto immune disease.

‘Myself and Jason have ended our six year relationship. Cullen’s tirade and harassment destroyed us, it consumed us. We lost who we were. Our relationship never really had a chance or a proper foundation as the harassment started a few months after we became a couple.

‘A few weeks ago I moved back into my home in Shingan. It feels strange. I have to remind myself that he is not outside anymore. It is like the happy relaxed feeling that you get when you wake up in a hotel room. A wave of peace washes over me to know he is not living in Shingan anymore.

‘Sadly I am still with this debilitating autoimmune disease. By the time I read this victim impact statement I will have started my third round of injections on April 4. My consultant hopes the results will be better this time because Cullen is not around. I will receive this treatment for six months, ironically finishing on September 5, 2019, almost six years to the day when the harassment started on September 4, 2013.’

On completion of reading the Victim Impact Statement, Ms White pleaded with Judge Quinn: ‘I beg the court to keep him away from me’.