An NHS midwife has been fined and told to abide by a restraining order after she accused her policeman ex of being 'thick', 'stupid' and 'useless'' in a series of emails. Cecilia Hopkins, 53, had faced the sack after firing off 20 angry messages to custody detention officer Jeremy King which he claimed left him in need of ''psychological support'' and requiring six months off work.
In her messages, sent over a ten-month period, Hopkins, from Warrington, told her ex: “I hope that you are feeling bad, stressed and useless”, “I have not finished yet, you have no future, you are thick and stupid and a stupid clown”, “Watch your back Jeremy King,” “There is no hope for you at all, you are f***ed,” and “I will come to your parents, I’ve something to deliver.”
She was later charged with harassment after former PCSO Mr King who currently deals with violent offenders on a daily basis with Merseyside Police said he felt ''vulnerable and intimidated because of the threats.''
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In a statement he said: ''Each day is a worry. Treatment and support from my employer is currently ongoing. My biggest concern is any contact with the offender. In my mind the offender still has the potential to carry out the threats.''
At Warrington magistrates, Hopkins, of Oldham Street, Latchford, had denied harassment of Mr King between June 12th and October 23rd of last year by sending abusive, threatening and insulting emails, but changed her plea to guilty on the day of her trial.
She had faced dismissal from her job after sentencing guidelines suggested she should complete a community order - but is expected to be spared the sack after she was instead fined £934 with £800 in prosecution costs and told to pay a further £374 in victim surcharge. She was further forbidden from contacting or approaching Mr King or going near addresses in Formby and Kirkby, Merseyside for 12 months.
Laura Simpson, prosecuting, said Hopkins and Mr King had been in relationship for five and half years but it ended in December 2021 for undisclosed reasons. Miss Simpson said: “They had been still speaking until June 2022 but the defendant then sent a number of emails, to the victim which are considered as harassment. There were 20 emails in total with the same strain of content and Mr King stated that this whole incident has had a massive impact, a significant psychological impact.
“For the past six months he has been receiving psychological support through his work. The victim works as a police detention officer. He said he is feeling vulnerable and intimidated because of the threats that have been made. The biggest impact has been on his relationships with friends, family and at work. He has taken six months off work due to the threats and after returning was not working full time in his role.
“The victim has been caused distress. Under sentencing guidelines the starting point for this offence is a low-level community order.”
In mitigation Hopkins' lawyer Peter Green said: “I ask that you give her some credit for her guilty plea on the day of trial. It is fair to say that Miss Hopkins has wrestled with this from fairly early on in the proceedings, from the first court appearance because this conviction could well have a massive impact on her and potentially end her career.
“She is a specialist midwife. She has spoken to the professional body which has indicated to her that if she receives by way of a sentence more than a financial penalty, she will almost certainly lose her job. She has been a midwife and a specialist midwife for many years.
“She was one of the NHS staff, obviously, who three years ago or so we were all clapping for on our doorsteps at eight o'clock at night. Up until now she has been a lady of good character. She had a relationship with Mr King but that relationship ended.
''It is fair to say that Miss Hopkins made an allegation to police of a more serious nature against Mr King which the police and Crown Prosecution Service took no further action on. It was against that backdrop that this incident occurred.
“We also have a scenario where the defendant was looking after her elderly mother who was particularly infirm at the time. She took her mother at the end of September last year to Canada, to see her brother for the last time. Miss Hopkins was with her mother because no other family member wanted to do it because it was too much responsibility.''
“She seems to be quite a good lady who just made a mistake. Miss Hopkins has had this matter hanging over her. For seven or eight months, she has been worrying about what the outcome will be.
“She sees the conviction as a stain on her character. That to me is punishment enough. People need to be punished, that’s the purpose of the court, but we do not want to destroy people. Everybody in this court today has made a mistake in their life though we do not necessarily all finish up in a criminal court. She has made a mistake but she can have a future.
''The emails were not particularly threatening. They were the sort of communication you would expect from a party when the relationship comes to an end. The victim in this case is an employee of Merseyside Police and as a detention officer you would expect detention officers to deal on a daily basis with violent individuals not someone who sent 20 emails sent on the breakdown of a relationship. I will say no more than that.''
Sentencing Hopkins, JP Paul Chadwick told her: ''In our sentencing guidelines the starting point is a low-level community order but Mr Green suggested an alternative of a fine. We are not going down the route of a community order as we have listened to Mr Green.
“We have considered a number of factors. Your references and the victim personal statement for psychological distress suffered. Equally it was not one email, it was 20 emails and threats contained within them. But you are a lady of previous good character and you pleaded guilty on the day of trial."
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