A Metropolitan Police officer allegedly “tormented” his ex-girlfriend by persistently contacting her in the month after they split up, a court has heard.
Pc Ben Bunsell, attached to the Central South Command Unit, denies one count of stalking without fear, alarm or distress between June 23 and July 28 2023 while off-duty.
The 40-year-old sent more than 770 messages to Natalie Jundo after the pair split up in June and allegedly showed up at her home address in the early hours of the morning at the end of the month, prosecutor Jason Seetal told City of London Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday.
It was really stressful, but when he started, what I thought was him coming around the house, then it started to get frightening
The court was also told that Bunsell made a series of phone calls to Ms Jundo using a withheld number after she blocked him and sent emails to her using an unknown address.
Ms Jundo, giving evidence behind a screen to block her from Bunsell’s view, said: “It was really interfering with everything … because either the phone constantly calling or messages and emails to the point where I couldn’t use my phone.”
“It just really tormented me,” she added.
Ms Jundo also told the court: “It was really stressful, but when he started, what I thought was him coming around the house, then it started to get frightening.
“It was not just frustrating or stressful, it started getting scary.”
Bunsell and Ms Jundo met in December 2021 on a dating website on Facebook and broke up after entering into a relationship, before getting back together in February this year.
They split up again on June 22.
After their relationship ended, Ms Jundo messaged Bunsell on one occasion telling him she changed the locks for her house when she had not, which, she told the court, she did because she was “scared that he might try and come back in”.
She responded to some of the defendant’s messages, telling him to stop contacting her, before going on to block him on various messaging platforms, the court heard.
All of that the crown say establishing a pattern of stalking
Bunsell continued to make contact through email and calls using unknown or withheld numbers, the prosecutor said.
Ms Jundo’s Ring doorbell recorded someone walking twice past her front gate at around 2am on June 30, which she believed was the defendant, the court heard.
She said Bunsell told her after they split up the first time that he had showed up at her home address when they were separated.
Ms Jundo contacted the police on July 3 and the defendant was arrested the next day, but was not charged and was bailed with a condition not to contact her.
On July 25, Ms Jundo received an email from an unknown address wishing her a happy birthday.
Following an exchange of responses, a phone number was given and, when Ms Jundo rang it, the defendant picked up, the prosecution said.
“All of that, the crown say, establishing a pattern of stalking,” Mr Seetal said.
Felix Keating, defending, told the court Bunsell accepts sending some of the messages but denies others and that what he accepts sending does not amount to stalking.
Cross-examining Ms Jundo, Mr Keating said on behalf of his client that she cannot be sure the person seen on the Ring doorbell footage is the defendant and that Bunsell never told her he had come to her house during a previous period of separation.
Bunsell, of Greenwich, has been suspended from duty and the Met Police said its Directorate of Professional Standards is aware.
