Unmasked, town’s poison pen emailer
Tree surgeon targeted charity after he was sacked
A TREE surgeon carried out a ‘poison pen’ campaign against a charity and threatened to throw acid in the faces of its trustees.
Ed Glenwright conducted a ‘calculated’ 14-month attack on the Moffat Community Woodlands group in Dumfriesshire after his dismissal.
A court heard the 46-year-old sent scores of emails in which he threatened to kill trustees and accused one of the charity members of paedophilia.
Dumfries Sheriff Court heard Glenwright’s campaign involved the creation of more than 100 fake Facebook profiles to spread vicious smears.
One victim, retired lecturer Jon Haydon, said he was driven to despair by false claims he was a paedophile. He said he was too scared to leave his house and turned to drink to cope.
‘It is difficult to put into words how these crimes have affected me,’ he told the Dumfries and Galloway Standard. ‘It would be easier if I had been punched in the face, but all the harm is inside.’
He said he felt ‘physically sick’ after reading an email ‘describing how I supposedly sexually abused the daughter of one of my students’. The court heard Glenwright sent 106 emails pretending to be real people from Moffat.
Amid escalating threats, one of Glenwright’s victims took refuge in a hotel with his wife for four days.
Vicky Urquhart, for Glenwright, agreed that his behaviour ‘became obsessive’ towards his victims.
She told the court: ‘He has a depressive illness and a stress-related illness. He has been engaging with the mental health services and has now been prescribed medication and is receiving counselling.’ Sheriff Brian Mohan fined Glenwright – who admitted two charges of using social media to threaten the group – £1,000.
He also ordered him to pay £2,000 in victim compensation.
Sheriff Mohan said: ‘This is absolutely appalling behaviour.’
He accepted not guilty pleas to four other charges.
After sentencing, Glenwright, who earns £4,000 per month, said: ‘I’m genuinely very sorry for what I did.
‘I did some terrible things and I am ashamed and remorseful. I regret all my actions and any suffering I caused.’
In a statement on social media yesterday, the trustees said: ‘The malicious communications have had a devastating impact on the individuals concerned, and their families.’
It added: ‘The charity itself and the project to create a mixed broadleaf woodland on Gallow Hill has also been set back because of the time and energy that we have had to devote to dealing with this harassment. We are pleased that this chapter has come to an end.’