Cyber stalker terrorised Highlands teen with thousands of messages
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A CYBER stalker who posted intimate pictures of a teen online and terrorised her with death threats and hundreds of abusive messages will be sentenced next month.
Daniel Edmunds began an online-only relationship with the then 17-year-old girl when they met on an internet chat room.
But their romance turned sour when the relationship ended in July last year.
He then began bombarding her with hundreds of increasingly abusive and threatening messages, despite repeated requests from his victim to stop.
Depute fiscal Roderick Urquhart told Inverness Sheriff Court that Edmunds texted her telling her to stop ignoring him.
She replied: "Please leave me alone," and warned him it would all end up in court. But Edmunds responded with threats to kill her.
Mr Urquhart said Edmunds then sent pictures tagged as being of the girl to one of her friends asking if the teen had a boyfriend.
The girl’s friend told her mother and the police became involved.
"It appears she was in a state of fear for some time and was too embarrassed to report it to the police."
When the teen, who is now 19, did go to the police station she took with her a considerable number of messages ‘running into thousands’ that she had received from Edmunds.
The 26 year-old bricklayer, of Lanesborough Rise, Bristol, pleaded guilty to sending the messages to the teen in Inverness, Dingwall and Forres between 1st January and 10th December last year.
When he was first detained by police he replied: "I have just been stupid. I was just trying to be controlling" and added that he "would not have done anything."
Mr Urquhart said he told police he repeatedly sent the text messages because he "wanted to get a response and was hitting a brick wall".
Sentence was deferred for criminal justice social work reports until 22nd January and defence solicitor Alison Foggo said she would give her plea in mitigation then.
