A man from Staffordshire has been sentenced to two years in prison for a campaign of stalking that saw him make around 400 phone calls to a woman in under a week, in direct breach of a court order.
A Relentless Campaign of Harassment
Sean Philip Vincent, aged 38 and from Biddulph, was released from prison on bail for a separate offence on 17 June this year. A strict condition of his bail explicitly forbade him from contacting the victim. However, he immediately and flagrantly ignored this legal order.
Over the following six days, Vincent launched a relentless campaign of harassment. He used multiple different phone numbers and created various social media profiles to bombard the woman with calls, messages, and voice notes. The sheer volume of contact was staggering, amounting to approximately 400 calls in that short period.
Arrest and Court Proceedings
Staffordshire Police arrested Vincent on Monday, 23 June. Upon his arrest, he admitted to officers that he had called the victim hundreds of times. He was subsequently charged with intimidating a witness or juror and stalking involving serious alarm or distress.
Initially, Vincent entered a plea of not guilty to the offences at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court. However, when confronted with the overwhelming evidence against him, he changed his plea to guilty.
Sentencing and Police Response
On Wednesday, 26 November, Vincent was sentenced at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court to two years' imprisonment. Following the sentencing, PC Olivia May of CID North commended the victim's bravery in reporting the crimes.
"I hope Vincent’s conviction and sentence can offer her some closure and shows that we take such reports extremely seriously and will act against those responsible," PC May stated. "I would urge any victims of such crimes to come forward and report it to us; we will listen and do our best to bring you justice."
A spokesperson for Staffordshire Police reiterated the force's commitment to tackling stalking and witness intimidation, highlighting the serious consequences for perpetrators who breach court orders.
