A sentencing judge yesterday said an alarming feature of the harassment was the man turned up in the woman’s apartment when she was not home.

Ali Arafa, an Egyptian national, pleaded guilty to harassment of the young Cork woman by persistent phone calls and threats.

Detective Garda Eamon Feehan said the calls became so persistent that when the woman was making a complaint in Togher Garda Station, two calls came through to her from the accused.

The officer said he took one of the calls, introduced himself as a member of An Garda Síochána and told the accused to desist in making such phone calls to the complainant.

The accused would not believe him, even after the detective advised him to contact him through the Garda station’s landline. Arafa even said to the detective: “Tell the bitch I will smash her face.”

Judge Seán Ó Donnabháin imposed a three-year jail term on the accused, backdated to August as he has been in custody since then. The last two years were suspended on condition that he would stay away from the complainant and have no contact with her.

“This is an alarming case, the length of time over which the harassment took place, the nature of the harassment and the repeated continuous nature of the phone calls.

“What takes it on to a different level is his entering or being at her apartment (months after the relationship had ended) that is a serious escalation in the harassment. Also what is worrying me is his reaction to the guard which was alarming, saying, ‘tell the bitch I will smash her face’. They are worrying aspects,” Judge Ó Donnabháin said. He said the defendant’s insight into his offending behaviour was very limited.

Det Garda Feehan said that even when the accused was remanded in custody in relation to the case, he sent five letters to the woman. There was nothing threatening in those letters which were vetted by prison authorities before being sent. He wrote a letter to the judge which said: “Love made me do some crazy stuff. I never mean to annoy her when I ring her that much. I swear to God I never mean to harm her. She was the only sweet thing in my life. Sorry to make her hate me in that way and make her afraid of me.”

Ray Boland BL said the accused had a skewed sense of why he was in prison and believed it had been in the gift of the complainant to get him out.

Det Garda Feehan said the relationship had ended several months but the accused kept contacting. In one six-week period up to early August, the complainant received the 1,000 missed calls and 1,000 emails. In effect, he was ringing and then emailing her immediately afterwards, asking her to pick up her phone. He also trespassed at the woman’s apartment when she was away and then send her a photograph of the interior of her own home. He also took flowers from her windowbox and stuck them into the letterbox.

The accused spoke in English to apologise to the complainant and stated that he would stay away from her.

Det Garda Feehan said all the woman wanted was for the accused to stay away.