A man who bombarded his estranged wife with messages and threatened her current partner, refusing to come to terms with the breakdown of his marriage, was ordered to seek help after admitting to his criminal actions in court.

The 51-year old man, whose name was banned from publication under court order, was arraigned on Friday following a report by his estranged wife who claimed that for the past three years she has suffered persistent harassment by her ex.

The couple were currently going through separation proceedings, but the husband simply could not come to terms with that reality, calling the woman around twice daily, keeping track of her whereabouts and sending endless texts that were often threatening. 

The situation became unbearable a couple of weeks ago when the accused allegedly threatened his ex-wife’s partner, prompting her to report the matter to the police.

Investigations led to the suspect’s arrest.

He was arraigned on Friday, admitting to harassing his ex and her partner, causing them to fear violence, stalking the woman, insulting and threatening her partner as well as misusing electronic communication equipment. 

The court heard how the accused would dial the woman’s number twice daily, using different mobile phones and numbers.

Calls were traced to locations close to the man’s home and workplace, while one particular message sent to his son linked the suspect to one of the burner phones which, together with various SIM cards were later discovered at his residence, tucked away inside a bag of cat litter. 

The man registered an admission.

When making submissions on punishment, defence lawyers Franco Debono and Marion Camilleri explained that the accused was finding it hard to come to terms with his marriage breakdown because he still loved his wife. 

When delivering judgment the court, presided over by magistrate Claire Stafrace Zammit, urged the accused to seek “a purpose in life” and to accept the fact that he could not force his ex-wife to love him.  

In light of the circumstances of the case, the court placed the man on probation, coupled with a treatment order for two years, while issuing a protection order in favour of the victims, warning that he was not to communicate with them in any way. 

The court also ordered the destruction of the device used by the accused to send the harassing messages.

Inspector Roxanne Tabone prosecuted.