Dad despatched ex pictures of him ‘crying in remedy’ throughout sick stalking marketing campaign

A man embarked on a sick stalking campaign during which he sent AI images of him crying in therapy. During his cruel crusade, Wakefield dad Benjamin Clarkson, 43, of no fixed abode, sent the woman Asda deliveries and bombarded her with messages threatening her to withdraw her support of a prosecution. Prosecutor Mollie Briggs told Leeds Crown Court on Friday, October 16, that Clarkson’s behaviour began to change when he started using alcohol as a coping mechanism for his dad’s death, reports Yorkshire Live.

She told the court: “Things deteriorated. He became demanding and disrespectful to her. On one occasion when he had been drinking he asked her to bring him another bottle of wine. She refused and went for a bath and he turned the light off and she slipped and hurt herself. She went to bed and he threw her phone towards her and it hit her on the arm.

“Previously, during arguments, he threw her keys out of the window into nettles, telling her to ‘fetch.’ He threw her phone out of the window several times before. On another occasion he was intoxicated and she told him to ‘calm down’ and he threw a dinner plate across the room. On another occasion, he turned the fuse box off so she could not use the electricity.

“She often experienced him guilt-tripping her if she did anything without him and he would send messages demanding alcohol and he would ping her phone on Find my iPhone and would control who would visit her and who she was friends with.”

The court heard the couple split up, but Clarkson’s behaviour continued. Clarkson, who appeared in court over a video link from HMP Hull, was arrested on February 18 this year with bail conditions including not to contact the woman. Ms Briggs said: “Between February and June he sent several ASDA deliveries to the address with notes attacked.”

The court heard the notes included the names of the children they shared. Ms Briggs added: “The defendant began messaging her relentlessly including threats to expose her for fraud if she didn’t stop the charges. Others were screenshots about prison sentences for fraud.

“A few days later, he sent 47 abusive messages within the space of 20 minutes. A PC was present as they were coming through…They included him venting and further threats that he was going to get her into trouble for fraud and faking invoices. He sent messages over social media to friends and their partners and in April sent a letter via his mother highlighting what he was doing to improve his behaviour and showed images using AI of him in therapy crying and in the gym.”

The court heard Clarkson went on to send jewellery to the woman and attempted to add her babysitter on social media. He was also seen loitering near the woman’s home by both her and neighbours. Ms Briggs summarised a victim personal statement provided to the court by the woman and said: “She has suffered severe anxiety and has had to seek professional help. She has been on antidepressants since March and was given medication to help her sleep.

“She was caused severe anxiety from opening messages from the defendant from his mum’s phone and states she has suffered with short-term memory loss and has struggled to eat properly and work now due to her stress and anxiety. She reports being unable to focus and has had to take time off work.

“She has anxiety attacks at unexpected times and has felt withdrawn from friends and family. His repeated breach of his bail conditions caused her further stress and she fears the potential repercussions when he is released and has had a drink.”

Clarkson, the court heard, had pleaded guilty to stalking and controlling and coercive behaviour. He had also admitted a separate charge of assault by beating. He had irrelevant previous convictions on his record. Mitigating, Matthew Harding said: “There is a pre-sentence report. The thrust of my submissions are that you can impose a sentence that allows him to be released.

“The pre-sentence report is, in my submission, helpful in a number of respects. No relationship or person in one is perfect. At the outset of the relationship, no real signs of the issues or the magnitude were present. She also accepts it was the death of his father that was the catalyst.”

His Honour Judge Simon Batiste made Clarkson the subject of a sentence suspended for two-and-a-half years, during which he must complete a probation and monitoring requirement and 120 hours of unpaid work.

He was also made the subject of a seven-year restraining order, prohibiting him from contacting the victim.