A UK woman has been issued a restraining order after reportedly sending her ex-boyfriend up to 150 texts per day, trying to rekindle their relationship.
28-year-old Michelle Felton was recently banned from contacting her ex-boyfriend, Ryan Harley, in any way for 18 months, and sentenced to 18 months of community service with 30 days of rehabilitative activity. The young woman from Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, reportedly harassed Mr. Harley by texting and calling him over 1,000 times after being dumped by him. Despite making it clear that he did not want anything to do with her, Harley claims that she continued trying to contact him and rekindling their 21-month romance.
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“Mr Harley informed Miss Felton that he wished to end the relationship. He said that it had been toxic in his view. She did not agree with that, and it led to the harassment offense,” prosecutor Arron Smith said. “Between the dates of February 15 and February 26 (2022), there was a constant barrage of messages. There were 100s of messages each day, missed calls and texts sent without reply.”
“They are not threatening messages or abusive messages, but it’s the constant nature of them. She stated that she loves Mr Harley, that she was hurt that the relationship was over, and did not want to continue living,” Smith added. “She sent photos of her and said that he belongs to her.”
Ryan Harley said that his ex-girlfriend’s constant texting caused him great discomfort and that he had made it very clear that he did not want to continue dating her, but instead was looking to rebuild his life. She simply ignored his stance and continued sending him messages like “Why won’t you speak to me? I love you. Are we meeting tonight? Are we going out?”
When Felton started showing up at his house unannounced and leaving gifts on his doorstep, Harley called the police and reported her behavior. The 28-year-old woman accepted responsibility for the harassment and took responsibility for the over 1,000 messages, but claims that her ex only filed the complaint to avoid being prosecuted for grievous bodily harm against her.
Miss Felton’s defense lawyer told the court that Ryan Harley had accidentally broken one of her fingers during an argument where she had also kicked him in the groin. After convincing her not to go to a hospital, Harley allegedly cut off all communication with Felton, and she simply couldn’t understand why.
“It’s a sad story but nevertheless here you are,” Judge Alan Eyres told Felton. “We have taken into account your late guilty plea and that you have no previous convictions. We do not want to see you again.”
