A Birmingham man who sent a threatening message to a woman saying he would abuse and kill her, falsely claimed her children were his, and then attended their school has been handed a suspended prison sentence.
Delroy Johnson, 46, of West Boulevard, Quinton, appeared at Birmingham Magistrates' Court on Monday (September 21) for sentencing. He had been found guilty at a trial on July 24 this year of sending a communication threatening death and stalking, despite denying the charges.
Threatening message and school visit
The court heard that Johnson, who had previously been a friend of the victim, sent her an anonymous message on March 20 last year that read: 'Come here sexy b****. I will abuse you. I will kill you'.
Prosecutor Tillita St Juste told the court: “The defendant’s friendship ceased due to the defendant’s behaviour towards the victim and her children. On March 20 she received a message ‘Come here sexy b****. I will abuse you. I will kill you’. She called the number and immediately recognised it was the defendant.”
The victim then contacted friends to ask why they had given Johnson her number and requested that they all block him. The court also heard that Johnson continued to hold images of the woman's children and her friends' children.
On March 27, Johnson attended the children's school in Quinton. The prosecutor added: “The defendant said the children were his even though they never had a relationship. The victim said it was scary and it was affecting her mental health.”
Johnson had five convictions for 10 offences, with relevant offences relating to the complainant, including common assault, the court was told.
Defence mitigation
Johnson's defence representative said in mitigation: “He has recognised his wrongdoing had got inside how his actions affected the complainant. He is not looking to minimise his wrongdoing. He has previously responded well to probation intervention.”
The representative acknowledged: “What doesn’t help him despite previous interventions he’s still offended. He did send a nasty threat. He’s acknowledged his wrongdoing albeit it later in the day. He’s been on conditional bail [since the trial] and no breaches and has not committed offences. Drink has been a problem. He’s been putting right what’s been going wrong.”
Sentence and restraining order
The lead magistrate told Johnson: “These are really very serious offences – both are very serious. This is not the first time you have had these violence offences. This is the sixth violence you have had.”
The court imposed nine months custody suspended for 18 months, with a rehabilitation requirement of 25 Rehabilitation Activity Requirement days and 100 hours of unpaid work. Johnson was also ordered to pay court costs of £650 and a surcharge of £187, totalling £837, at a rate of £20 per month. A restraining order was issued for five years, preventing him from seeing the victim, with no separate penalty for the stalking offence.
