Jilted stalker uncovered 12-year affair to girl’s husband in word on door
James Nielson, 41, from Liverpool stalked his ex for three weeks in a relentless campaign as he wanted DNA tests to establish who was the father of two of her three children
James Nielson, of Carriage Grove, Bootle(Image: Merseyside police)
A 12-year affair turned bitter and resulted in a man hammering on his former lover’s door as he demanded a paternity test. James Nielson, 41, stalked his ex for three weeks as he wanted DNA tests to establish who was the father of two of her three children, who she had given birth to during the course of their lengthy relationship.
His relentless campaign saw him arrive at her home late at night and pound on the door, before leaving a note for her husband revealing the affair. At Liverpool Crown Court, prosecutor Lahraib Iqbal said Nielson and the victim had been acquainted for 15 years.
Whilst she had married her husband in 2013, she maintained an “on-off affair” with Nielson, blocking his number during the “off” periods. On December 4 last year, the woman woke to discover 37 messages from Nielson on her phone. When she left the house to go to work that morning, she spotted Nielson following her.
She told him to leave her alone and carried on her way, but when she reached work at 8.40am, Nielson approached her again and only left when he was confronted by a passer-by, reports the Liverpool Echo.
At 11.30pm that night, the victim was at home in Liverpool with her husband and children when Nielson began to pound on her door. He posted a note exposing the affair and departed the property – but returned in his car at 3am and started beeping his horn.
Ms Iqbal said: “At 10.30am (December 5) the defendant was spotted sat outside the address, beeping his horn and waving at (the victim) from his car.”
On December 8 at around 6.20am, the victim again left her house to go to work and was approached by Nielson. She told him to “go away”, got into her car and began to drive towards Crosby.
But Nielson tailed her in his black Vauxhall Golf, causing her to pull over to avoid crashing into another car.
Ms Iqbal said: “He went around to the front of her car and with his fists began to bang on the bonnet of her car.”
The woman called the police. Nielson, of Carriage Grove in Bootle, admitted stalking, driving whilst banned, and motoring without a valid licence. He also confessed to two violations of a 12-month suspended sentence he received in September 2025 for being involved in cannabis supply and cultivation.
The violations occurred through the stalking and motoring offences, plus his failure to comply with his curfew between December 1 and December 8 2025.
Olivia Bell, defending, said: “I would urge the court to accept his remorse is genuine. he regrets any distress caused to (the woman). I in no way seek to minimise his behaviour but simply provide context for his contacting the complainant.
“The defendant and complainant had been in an on-off affair for 12 years, during which time the complainant gave birth to three children, and it’s the defendant’s case that he questions the paternity of two of these children. Though his contact was in no way appropriate, I only raise it to explain why the defendant contacted the victim on multiple occasions.”
She said: “There were no threats of violence. Simply this was a man who struggled to lose what he called the love of his life following as 12-year affair and wanted to seek information about the paternity of the children.”
Nielson has 11 previous convictions for 21 offences, including multiple driving offences.
Passing sentence, judge Louise Brandon said: “It’s quite clear the fear and distress you caused has had a physical and emotional impact on (the victim). It’s affected how she conducted her day to day activities. She has incurred expenses and she has described the impact these actions have had on her life.
“I’m quite satisfied that the stalking is a high culpability offence. This was a persistent action over a long period. You followed the complainant and your behaviour was conducted in a way to maximise her fear and distress, including turning up at her family home.”
She handed Nielson an 18-week jail term for stalking and eight weeks for the driving offences. She also activated 39 weeks of his existing suspended sentence, resulting in a total prison sentence of 65 weeks (one year and two months).
She also disqualified him from driving for a total of 115 weeks, and imposed a restraining order banning him from contacting the victim for seven years.
