Woman faces jail for sending 1,000 texts to former lover
A WOMAN is facing prison after she bombarded her ex-boyfriend with more than 1,000 text messages, sending him to the brink of suicide.
Michelle Felton sent her former boyfriend, Ryan Harley, multiple messages, ringing or texting him up to 150 times a day after he ended the relationship.
In her torrent of texts the 28-year-old would ask him: “I love you. Are we meeting tonight? Are we going out?”.
Mr Harley, who lives with his mother in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, called the police when she began to leave gifts on his doorstep. He told officers: “I just want it to go away and for it all to stop. I just feel like ending it all.”
Prosecuting, Lynne Sayers said it was clear Felton was not intent on “maximising fear” but her actions had nonetheless caused “serious distress” as she contacted him at all hours.
“There was then a constant bombardment, with as many as 100 to 150 missed calls in a day over one 11 day period to Ryan. There were literally 100s and 100s and 100s of messages between 15 and 26 February this year,” Ms Sayers said.
The court heard that there were many “love-type messages” as well as messages from Felton asking if they would meet that night.
The pair began dating in May 2020 but split up in February this year after a row in which Mr Harley accidentally broke Ms Felton’s finger and she kicked him in the groin, the court was told.
Felton, an optician’s assistant at Specsavers, admitted harassment after prosecutors dropped a charge of coercive behaviour.
She was bailed for sentencing at Warrington magistrates’ court on Jan 6 and could face a six-month jail term.