MP was bombarded by abusive messages
A PEST bombarded his MP with abusive emails and branded her racist, a court heard.
Gene Matthews left Walsall South Labour MP Valerie Vaz feeling “threatened” when he sent her four “malicious” emails in just half-an-hour.
Matthews, 53, from Willenhall, was previously handed a restraining order after badgering the politician. But he ignored the court order and sent her insulting emails again.
Matthews admitted sending offensive/indecent communications and breaching a restraining order at Wolverhampton Magistrates’ Court on March 5.
He will be sentenced at Wolverhampton
Crown Court on April 2. Amy Groves, senior crown prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) West Midlands, said: “Elected officials have a right to do their jobs and represent their constituents without receiving derogatory messages that are intended to spark fear and distress.
“It’s clear that Matthews’ behaviour was an escalation on previous abusive messages he had sent to Mrs Vaz and working with our police partners, we acted quickly to secure a conviction and prevent him from causing further harm or distress.
“This result is further evidence of how seriously the CPS takes offending of this nature and Matthews will now face the consequences for his criminal actions.”
Matthews had previously sent “derogatory” emails to Mrs Vaz in April 2020, the CPS said.
He was then handed a harassment protection order preventing him from contacting or attempting to communicate with the MP. But he flouted the ban, sending four emails over a period of 30 minutes on February 20.
He emailed her “abusive” messages about his previous convictions and even used “offensive language to accuse her of being racist”.
In a statement, Mrs Vaz said she felt “threatened, alarmed and shocked”.