Stalker mum spared prison after sending priest explicit emails
‘I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean it’
A WOMAN who bombarded her parish priest with sexually explicit emails during a stalking campaign has been banned from contacting him for three years.
Claire Timpson repeatedly turned up outside his house, claimed she was in love with him, and told the churchman: ‘Everyone knows we have a special relationship.’
The 44-year-old first met the priest, who cannot be named for legal reasons, in 2003 to discuss having her son baptised and asked him about becoming a Catholic.
He became concerned about her behaviour and stopped their one-to-one meetings, which led to her shouting at him during Sunday Mass at his church.
Timpson, of Motherwell, Lanarkshire, later sent the priest 48 emails, many containing sexual remarks. She was arrested after church bosses advised him to call the police.
During a hearing at Hamilton Sheriff Court last November, she admitted a charge of stalking the clergyman between August 2016 and June 2017.
Timpson returned to the dock for sentencing yesterday, but walked free after Sheriff Marie Smart imposed a supervision order for three years and banned her from contacting the priest for the same period. The sheriff told her: ‘It seems to me that this was an isolated – albeit lengthy – incident towards one particular person and the way to deal with this seems to be to place you on a community order.
‘The comments that you made are more offensive than anything else and I do not consider it necessary to place you on the [sex offenders’] register, but a non-harassment order does seem appropriate.’
Ian Scott, defending, told the court: ‘This was an entirely isolated incident and out of character, and the court may wish to keep an eye on Miss Timpson while she atones for this matter.
‘She was placed on the register at the interim but in terms of protection of the public, it may not be entirely necessary given her focus was very clear and she only had interest in one person.’
At the earlier hearing, fiscal depute Scott King told the court there was very little contact between the pair for several years until Timpson started attending church again. He added: ‘In August, 2016, the accused began sending emails to the priest’s personal email address.’
One read: ‘Why won’t you talk to me? You started this, not me. I know I messed things up but we need to talk.’
The fiscal added: ‘In a number of the emails, Miss Timpson had told the priest that she loved him and she wanted a relationship with him. The emails were never replied to.
‘During this time Miss Timpson was also attending at the church house of the parish priest uninvited but didn’t actually speak to him. In emails she said she was outside the house and described things going on inside.’
The priest called the police in June last year and Timpson was arrested in August.
When questioned by officers, the court heard, she admitted sending the emails but told them: ‘I didn’t realise it was that many. I am just so sorry, I didn’t mean it.’