Man stalked wife after breakdown of marriage

A HUSBAND who “failed utterly” to deal with the breakdown of his marriage embarked on a campaign of stalking against his wife.

Antony Long, 51, burst into the former marital home when he suspected his ex of seeing a new man, sat brooding in his car outside the house, and secretly fitted a tracking device on her car to keep an eye on where she was, Taunton Crown Court heard.

His obsessive and controlling behaviour left her in emotional turmoil, feeling “worthless, numb and empty”.

Long, she said, could not see the psychological damage he was causing.

The defendant, from Yeovil, has been given a restraining order to stay away from his victim for 10 years. He says he has now moved on with life.

Prosecutor Alistair Haggerty said the harassment and stalking behaviour happened over a five-month period in 2020.

The pair’s two-year marriage began to deteriorate in the early part of the year. The victim suggested they try counselling but Long walked out on the first session after insulting her.

Long left the house but frequently returned to collect belongings and pester her with texts, said the prosecutor.

Over the next few weeks his behaviour included sitting in his car outside and watching the house, following the victim and bursting into the house unannounced when she had visitors. He continued to bombard her with calls and messages, despite being told by the police to stay away.

In April the victim was cleaning her car when she discovered a small black device under the wipers. It turned out to be a GPS tracking device with a SIM card registered to Long.

“It had been used from February to ascertain her location,” said Mr Haggerty.

Long carried on his stalking by following her to B&M and asking her why the relationship was over. A member of staff noticed how frightened she was by the encounter.

She said over four years she had felt “intimidated, bullied and shamed” by her partner.

Patrick Mason, defending, said Long had been assessed by doctors and suffers from depression.

“He failed utterly to cope with the break-up of the relationship to the point where he became obsessional,” he said.

He was moving away from the area and had not committed any further offences. He is a man of previous good character.

Long, of Elmleigh, Yeovil, pleaded guilty to stalking causing alarm and distress. He was jailed for 18 months, suspended for two years.