Prison for man who made sex calls to 999 workers

A MAN who made more than 100 sexually explicit 999 and 111 calls has been jailed for 24 weeks.

Convicted sex offender Anthony Marsh, 56, from County Durham, has been issued with a restraining order banning him from dialling 999 unless it is a genuine emergency.

He admitted three communications offences and one of harassment relating to a detective who he bombarded with calls.

District Judge Helen Cousins, sitting at Teesside Magistrates’ Court, told him: “NHS staff and police officers deserve all the support that they can be given, particularly at the present time, and they need to know this type of behaviour will not be tolerated.”

She jailed him for 24 weeks, saying the offending was too serious for a suspended sentence, and told him that saying he had been drinking was no excuse.

Marsh, of Tenth Street, Blackhall Colliery, made sexually explicit calls to 999 and 111 over several hours on two occasions at the end of March and in April.

The father of two grown-up children made unwanted sexual comments, asked to speak to female staff members and said he was watching pornographic films during the calls. He also harassed a detective, leaving explicit messages and saying he loved her.

The court heard that while the detective considered herself “robust”, Marsh’s harassment had a detrimental affect on her.

Andrew Teate, mitigating, said: “While the defendant has not been diagnosed with any mental health problem, these offences do not necessarily fall within what one might call normal.”

The district judge imposed restraining orders preventing him from contacting the detective and from dialling 999 or 111 unless it was a genuine medical emergency.