Eight months' prison for Wigan man who stalked former date with messages threatening to rape her and kill himself

A Wigan man who harassed and terrified a woman he met on an online dating site has been jailed.
Jailed: Callum HendersonJailed: Callum Henderson
Jailed: Callum Henderson

Callum Henderson, of no fixed address, admitted to sending a video entitled “watch me die” and another suggesting he would rape her to a woman he had been on a couple of dates with after she rejected his advances.

Bolton Crown Court heard the 28-year-old had met the victim on online dating site Bumble before starting a sinister stalking campaign against her.

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Prosecutors told the hearing how the offences happened over several months between March 1 and June 30 this year.

They exchanged messages and met on several occasions. She told the defendant she didn’t want to pursue a relationship. He didn’t accept that and began contacting her by text message and phone call on numerous occasions despite being told she wanted him to leave her alone.

On at least one occasion the messages were said to be “unpleasant and threatening.”

Just before Henderson’s arrest, the victim was subjected to a disturbing incident in which he threatened suicide.

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The court was told she received a video which really frightened her and was captioned “watch me die.”

A statement from the victim read: “No one has the right to harass me or make me feel harassed and this whole experience has left me feeling scared for my life and my family.

“He is calculating, intelligent and scary. I believe he’s been keeping tabs on my location. I logged onto FindMyIphone on his phone when I lost mine and he wouldn’t let me sign out.

“After that he sent me letters and things at home when I never never gave him my home address. These things stopped when I changed my password.

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“He sent me violent sexual messages which I took to be a rape threat. I had to take time off work because of the stress and take medication. I feel like my life has been derailed by someone I hardly know.”

The judge heard about Henderson’s concerning criminal history which is marked by incidents of harassment.

In May he was given a two-year suspended jail sentence for breaching a restraining order against another victim.

Henderson’s defence barrister said her client was remorseful and had had no intention of doing his victim any harm.

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She added that what he had done coincided with a turbulent period of his life involving a lost job, lost relationship and over-reliance on alcohol.

The hearing was told that he had suffered depression because of the job loss, had mental health issues and that he had not been taking the medication given to him to tackle the problems because it gave him nightmares.

But Judge Graeme Smith said that Henderson might not understand how people interpret and respond to his actions, but it had made the victim “scared for her life.”

He added that probation regarded Henderson a “high risk to women.”

Henderson was jailed for eight months and was further banned from contacting the woman for five years under the terms of a restraining order.