A stalker who posted a blood-smeared note through his victim’s door and later tried to frame her using a pornographic website has walked free from Chester Crown Court.
Mark Kavanagh, 37, of Church View, Wrexham, received an 18-month suspended sentence on January 23 for stalking, assaulting an emergency worker and perverting the course of justice.
The court issued a restraining order prohibiting Kavanagh from contacting his victim, whom he had become obsessed with after they shared accommodation in Chester.
The court heard how Kavanagh developed a false belief by April 2024 that he had been in a relationship with his female housemate, becoming fixated on her whereabouts and companions.
Mark Kavanagh has walked free from Chester Crown Court
PA
He made threats to assault any man she brought to the address, with his behaviour growing increasingly concerning over time.
In one disturbing incident, he posted a note smeared with blood under the victim’s door.
When the victim checked on his welfare, she found him holding a knife having self-harmed. He later told her: “I did it to test you.”
The court was told Kavanagh would repeatedly message the victim threatening self-harm when he believed she had returned home with male company.
Officers from Chester Local Policing Unit arrested Kavanagh on May 8, 2024, during which he grabbed a knife and attempted to bite an officer while being restrained.
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He claimed his victim had uploaded intimate images of him to a pornographic website, but detectives quickly discovered Kavanagh had created the account himself (file photo)
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After being bailed with conditions not to contact the victim or enter Chester, Kavanagh made a false report to police on June 23.
He claimed his victim had uploaded intimate images of him to a pornographic website, but detectives quickly discovered Kavanagh had created the account himself just six hours before reporting it.
The images were uploaded from his location and deleted 40 minutes later.
Kavanagh was subsequently arrested again and remanded in custody, eventually pleading guilty to all charges due to overwhelming evidence.
Detective Constable Ashcroft from Cheshire’s Harm Reduction Unit said Kavanagh had subjected the victim to “abject cruelty, all because she ended a relationship that only ever existed in his mind.”
“His offending has understandably left his victim incredibly shaken,” DC Ashcroft added, praising the victim’s bravery throughout the investigation.
Detective Chief Inspector Danielle Knox vowed police were committed to tackling stalking offences.
“The strength shown by the victim in this case is rightly recognised and I hope this shows that we will take all reports of stalking seriously,” DCI Knox said.