A stalker broke into his former partner's home and entered her bedroom after she broke up with him.
Ionut Jamt, 35, became obsessed with his former partner and followed her as she went about her daily business in Cardiff last year.
During that time he stalked her to Barry Island and the supermarket. On one occasion he got into her car and refused to leave and stole her mobile phone and later broke into her house through a kitchen window before waking her up at 6am.
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A sentencing hearing at Cardiff Crown Court on Tuesday heard Jamt met the woman and they embarked upon a relationship which lasted around four months. But when the woman ended the relationship, the defendant couldn't accept they had broken up.
Prosecutor Josh Scouller said the first incident took place on October 19 when the victim left her house to attend a job but Jamt "appeared from nowhere" and sat in her car. He refused to move and took her mobile phone, before running off with it. It took an hour for the woman to retrieve it.
On October 20, the woman left her address and saw Jamt following her. She made her way towards a cafe in Cathays and hid inside before contacting her brother who took her to the police station to make a complaint.
On October 31, the victim woke up at 6am to find Jamt in her bedroom, and told him "What the f***, get out". The defendant refused and insisted he wanted to speak to her, but the woman told him she was contacting to police. He then took her phone and left but he later arranged to meet up with the victim.
When they met he told her he had left the phone in his car and as they walked to the car, he continued to plead with her to talk to him but having retrieved he mobile phone, the woman walked away.
On November 4, the victim contacted police to say Jamt was following her in Cathays. She told him to go away but an hour later he reappeared as the woman was waiting in a queue in Lidl. He joined her in the queue and again pleaded with her to talk to him. She then made her way to Cardiff city centre where the defendant continued to harass her.
She entered a shop where she knew the owner and waited there for 45 minutes but upon leaving, Jamt drove past her a number of times and again tried to speak to her.
On November 5, the woman went to Barry Island but saw Jamt approaching her and he again persisted in attempting to talk to her. Mr Scouller described the victim as "angry, frustrated and not really listening" to the defendant. She then walked to a cafe where she called the police.
Jamt was subsequently arrested on November 8 and told police he would kill himself. During his police interviews, he admitted making persistent efforts to contact the woman but claimed he had not been given a "clear explanation" why the relationship had come to an end.
The defendant, of Leighton Avenue, Swindon, Wiltshire, later pleaded guilty to stalking and burglary.
In a victim personal statement, the woman said: "The constant harassment has made me feel on edge and anxious, and has left me feeling isolated from my family and friends. It was affected my work and I'm constantly worried about taking on further clients because of Ionut following me.
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"I wasn't scared he would physically harm me but he has wreaked havoc on my life. He would not take no for an answer and was desperate, constantly feeling he needed to talk to me. I wish for him to leave me alone. It's now normal for me when driving to check all my mirrors for his car."
In a further email, the victim said she did not want Jamt to be imprisoned and claimed she did not think he had "bad intentions" but described him as "desperate".
In mitigation, solicitor-advocate Derrick Gooden said his client Jamt's offences were a direct result of him facing difficulties in the breakdown of his relationship with the victim. The court heard he had been on remand in prison for three months.
Judge Daniel Williams sentenced Jamt to a two-year community order. He was also made subject to the Building Better Relationships programme for 29 sessions, an exclusion zone preventing him from entering Cardiff for 12 months and a three-year restraining order.
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