Posted August 13, A Canberra public servant who stalked his ex-partner by sending animal faeces to her work, breaking into her home and sending explicit images to her family members, has been sentenced in Darwin's Supreme Court to three years and two months in jail.
Paul Anthony Bennett, 54, pleaded guilty to 12 stalking-related charges, including using a carriage service to harass, unlawful entry and distribution of an intimate image. The court heard he had previously been placed on a two-year good behaviour bond in Canberra, after stalking another former partner. The court heard Bennett, who worked for the Department of Home Affairs at the time, broke into the victim's home, stole three pairs of her underwear, a ring, scratched a pair of glasses and wrote things like "whore", "mummy is a slut" and "bitch" across her possessions.
On another occasion, Bennett trespassed onto the property of the victim's male friend and filmed the pair through a window. He texted the victim's mother, claiming he was concerned about her relationship with the man saying "no parent or friend ever wants to see a loved one being taken advantage of".
Despite being issued a Domestic Violence Order, Bennett flew to Darwin under a false identity and doused the her male friend's pool and car in petrol. A psychiatric report described Bennett's behaviour as "diverse and chronic stalking" which required "intensive treatment". The report said he had a "significant history of intimate relationship problems" and the offending was "persistent" and "humiliating". The court heard the victim became overwhelmed and stressed and that she was also forced to pay legal fees to maintain the child-sharing arrangements she had with her ex-husband, after Bennett sent "obscene images" to him.
Bennett repeatedly sent texts, emails and made phone calls, despite the victim moving and changing her phone number. Topics: laws , crime , domestic-violence , courts-and-trials , court-ordered-psychiatric-treatment , nt , darwin Contact Melissa Mackay. More stories from Northern Territory. If you have inside knowledge of a topic in the news, contact the ABC. ABC teams share the story behind the story and insights into the making of digital, TV and radio content. Read about our editorial guiding principles and the standards ABC journalists and content makers follow.
