Sex obsessed stalker jailed for ban breach

A sex obsessed stalker who blamed his crimes on a “combination of loneliness, lust and cannabis” was yesterday jailed for sending a string of bizarre messages to his victim’s mother after being released from an earlier jail term for harassing her.

Darren Shields was given a 22month sentence last year for a campaign of terror against the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons.

That included approaching her mother and describing the sex act he wished to perform on her.

He was released half way through that sentence last December.

But in July the victim received a Facebook friend request from the accused, despite him having been handed a five-year ban from contacting her.

In August this year he spotted his victim driving through Dundee and stopped at the side of the road to stare at her.

Days later her mother saw she had received three messages from Shields through Facebook.

One read that “the world is gonna turn up side down – just think of a big wide open space with nothing to grab on to” before he begged her to pass his messages on to the victim.

A second bizarrely read: “So up your armhole lol.com.”

A third was in similar terms to the first – again adding: “Pass on the message.”

Fiscal depute Vicki Bell told Dundee Sheriff Court that Shields’ previous involvement with the woman had left her terrified and the new messages had caused her “extreme distress”.

A sheriff told Shields: “She never knows when she’s going to look over her shoulder – physically or electronically – and see you.”

Miss Bell added: “The sister of the victim later received a friend request on Facebook from the accused and received a message in the same terms as her mother received.

“When he was interviewed he denied the messages were for the woman.”

Shields, 31, a prisoner at Perth, pleaded guilty on indictment to breaching an antisocial behaviour order between July 1 and August 24 this year that banned him from contacting the woman.

David Duncan, defending, said: “It was as a result of him being on his computer in a fug of cannabis use that he found the temptation to contact beyond endurance.

“Reports were compiled on him for his last case that summed it up as a combination of loneliness and lust whilst disinhibited by cannabis.”

Sheriff Alastair Brown jailed Shields for 11 and a half months, to be served consecutively to 85 days imposed that were outstanding from his last sentence.