Stalker hid secret tracker in his former partner's car because he ‘wanted closure’
A man who hid a tracker under the dashboard of his former partner said he thought he had a right to know where she was taking his son.
Robert Sharp had split with his partner of a decade and she moved out of their home following an incident between them.
But a court heard how he then called her begging to borrow her car, before fitting a hidden tracker under the dashboard.
He then returned her car and tracked her movements for nearly two weeks.
The woman thought something was amiss when she noticed that her dashcam had been unplugged, but only clocked what was going on when Sharp began to question her movements.
The 45-year old appeared before Northampton Crown Court on Thursday (June 6) to be sentenced for one count of stalking and one count of witness intimidation said to have taken place in August last year.
Prosecuting, Pree Brada said: “The defendant started to make remarks when she’d been out visiting friends.
"It made her question whether he might know her whereabouts.
"He messaged her to say ‘I hope he’s worth it’.”
The woman then confronted Sharp and he admitted he’d fitted a tracker. She reported the incident to the police.
But over the next few days, Sharp, of Sandpiper Close, Burton Latimer, messaged his ex, telling her ‘Keep pushing and you’ll come unstuck’ and threatening to report her to HMRC if she did not withdraw her witness statement.
In interview, he told police that she had been ‘taking their son anywhere and everywhere’ and that ‘he had a right to know where his son was going after a ten-year relationship.’
The victim had previously run her business from the couple’s address and had been unable to take on work because she was now living with a relative.
In a statement she told the court she had lost weight and had become anxious: “I consider myself a strong person but I’ve found myself mentally shaken,” she said.
“I’m still struggling to sleep.”
She said that she had seen a van that was the same as Sharp’s and had locked herself in the car, suffering a panic attack.
"It wasn’t him,” she said, “but just the thought that it could have been him affected me in such a horrible way. The thought of him just being near me makes me scared.”
In mitigation, the court was told that Sharp, described as a ‘valuable employee’ at Stanair, had lost both his parents within weeks of each other and the victim had left him on the day of his mother’s funeral. Recorder Sunil Khanna also heard how Sharp had been ‘searching for answers’ as to why his partner had left him when he fitted the tracker and ‘just wanted closure.’
Sentencing Sharp, Recorder Khanna said: “You say you have now moved on and just want to see your son. The probation service say you’re at low risk of reoffending.
"Intimidating witnesses strikes at the very heart of the criminal justice system. People involved must be sure they’re not going to be intimidated by others so they can give their honest version of events.”
Sharp was given four months in prison, suspended for two years, and will have to undertake 60 hours of unpaid work and 10 rehabilitation requirement days.