Exclusive:'I watch you all the time': Man who slipped 'menacing' messages into Tesco worker's car gets sent to prison
"The whole situation was horrible, knowing he was watching me,” the victim said.
A man who sent "menacing" messages to a Tesco worker has been thrown behind bars.
On May 15, 2024, Joe Pinnock slipped notes through the car window of a Tesco employee, working in Portsmouth. These included messages such as "I have a surprise for you in my pants" and "I watch you all the time".
Pinnock, 35 of Portswood Road, Southampton, pleaded guilty to sending offensive communications, and appeared at Portsmouth Magistrates Court on Wednesday, September 30 for sentencing.
In a statement read out in court, the victim said: "Since the incident I have felt stressed and horrible. It's constantly playing on my mind - I don't know how long he has been watching me.
"As I work alone at various times in my shift, it makes me feel scared. I fear I could be attacked by anyone; I never felt like this before the incident happened.
"The whole situation was horrible, knowing he was watching me."
Pinnock has 14 previous convictions for 19 offences, the court was told.
Howard Barrington-Clark, defending Pinnock, asked for a suspended sentence, explaining to the court that through the defendant's outstanding community order, he had been "receptive" to rehabilitation.
"Pinnock has finished his unpaid work hours and is engaging well," the solicitor said. "A custodial sentence would be relatively short, but also ruin the progress he has made.
"He now has a partner, a child, and has stopped drinking. There is no objection to a restraining order."
But Judge David Robinson disagreed with his assessment, and decided an immediate custodial sentence was required.
He said: "This offence is so serious that only a custodial sentence can be justified. I'm not going to suspend it in this case.
"These notes you put through the window of the victim's car would have struck fear into anybody. They were sexual in tone, and plainly targeted - you said menacing things such as 'I watch you all the time'.
"There is no justification for this conduct. You committed the offence while on a community order, and have had several of these in the past. I'm not satisfied that there's a realistic prospect of rehabilitation."
Pinnock was sentenced to 75 days in custody, and was handed a 10-year restraining order for his victim, and the Tesco store she works in. His community order was also revoked.