A WOMAN was left horrified after finding out terrifying texts threatening to have acid thrown in her face were sent from her boyfriend.
Alina De Guiseppe, 24, was paralysed with fear as she received chillingly silent phone calls, abusive texts and messages sent from fake social media accounts.
And she was comforted by her boyfriend Anthony Clarke, who vowed to find the person responsible for the campaign of hate.
But Alina was horrified after finding out it was actually her boyfriend – the man she had dreamed of marrying and starting a family with – who was behind the messages.
Insulting messages kept appearing on her phone despite her blocking number after number while other texts threatened to have acid thrown on her face or break her nose.
Another read: "I promise that if you keep ignoring me, you will regret it, it’s up to you.”
Speaking to Kent Online, Alina said: "I was physically scared to leave the flat
“It struck fear into my day to-day life. I would stare out of the window sometimes looking for anyone suspicious or a car hanging around. “Even now if I feel like someone’s walking behind me I will get paranoid I am being followed.
“He saw it was affecting me and I would get upset and he would say ‘I will try to figure out who it is, I will get it to stop’.”
Alina said she became suspicious of her boyfriend but said he got upset when she confronted him.
But the web of lies ended as police got involved – tracing the phone numbers to Clarke.
Clarke, from Chatham, was given a suspended sentence of 20 months at Maidstone Crown Court after admitting charges of harassment.
HOW YOU CAN GET HELP:
Women’s Aid has this advice for victims and their families:
- Always keep your phone nearby.
- Get in touch with charities for help, including the Women’s Aid live chat helpline and services such as SupportLine.
- If you are in danger, call 999.
- Familiarise yourself with the Silent Solution, reporting abuse without speaking down the phone, instead dialing “55”.
- Always keep some money on you, including change for a pay phone or bus fare.
- If you suspect your partner is about to attack you, try to go to a lower-risk area of the house – for example, where there is a way out and access to a telephone.
- Avoid the kitchen and garage, where there are likely to be knives or other weapons. Avoid rooms where you might become trapped, such as the bathroom, or where you might be shut into a cupboard or other small space.
If you are a victim of domestic abuse, SupportLine is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 6pm to 8pm on 01708 765200. The charity’s email support service is open weekdays and weekends during the crisis – [email protected].
Women’s Aid provides a live chat service available. from 10am to noon.
You can also call the freephone 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247.
The young woman, who had started dating Clarke when she was 18, said she now suffered from panic attacks after being on the receiving end of cruel messages for so long.
She added: "I haven’t moved on in the sense I feel I could be with someone, just being able to trust someone again, I don’t know if I can do it."
Alina said the relationship had started well after the pair met while she worked at the M2 service station’s M&S while he worked at the garage.
But she said he quickly became controlling and would often be suspicious of her when she was texting friends.
Clarke even insisted on seeing screenshots of conversations she was having on social media.
Clarke sobbed as he was given a suspended sentence for the harassment.
The judge, Recorder Ed Burge QC told him: “The mental anguish that you needlessly inflicted on her can only be guessed at.
"You have escaped going straight to prison by the skin of your teeth.”
If you are a victim of domestic abuse, SupportLine is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 6pm to 8pm on 01708 765200. The charity’s email support service is open weekdays and weekends during the crisis – [email protected].
Source: Read Full Article
