A stalker who bombarded his ex-partner with unwanted messages and cycled past her house left her feeling "scared" and constantly looking over her shoulder.
Martin Puzylo contacted the woman on eight occasions via letter, emails and other messages between May 1 and October 11 last year, despite their relationship ending in 2013. The 46-year-old also rode a bike past the woman's home, which left her feeling "concerned at what he's capable of".
Puzylo, of Wingrove Gardens, Newcastle, appeared at Newcastle Magistrates' Court to be sentencing for stalking. He had pleaded guilty to the charge at a previous hearing.
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The court heard that Puzylo's former partner was the victim and that the couple had split up in 2013. But after their relationship ended, Puzylo "bombarded her with messages on various platforms". During his offending, the defendant made "repeated and unwanted contact with the victim", including over Facebook and other social media.
The court was told that in May last year, Puzylo sent the woman a letter saying he needed to speak to her and that she should contact him, but a month later after no reply, he rode a bicycle past her County Durham home before he set up a Facebook account and added her. The court heard that unwanted emails were also sent and that in total there were eight occasions where Puzylo contacted her.
In a victim statement which was read out in court, the woman said: "I don't think that he will ever leave me alone. I'm concerned about what he's capable of...I'm always looking over my shoulder. He has destroyed my confidence and I am no longer the person I was." She added: "I want him to leave me alone, it seems like he's always in the background, lurking unexpectedly."
Gerry Armstrong, defending, said Puzylo was a "lonely man" who lived an "isolated life" and said he was attempting to contact the woman as he wanted "one answer" regarding a question he had. He said Puzylo was also unaware she did not want to speak to him. Mr Armstrong said: "Nobody ever told him she didn't want to speak to him. He told me: 'I wanted someone to say to me she didn't want to hear from me'." Mr Armstrong added that there was "nothing threatening or violent in his messages" to her and said Puzylo has a "background of mental health" issues.
Puzylo was given a 10 week prison sentence, suspended for two years and must pay £213 costs.
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