Stephen Wolfe of New Milton threatened to attack girl, Southampton Crown Court hears

A NEW Milton man who claimed he was a boxing champion threatened to beat up a woman he had met on social media and rape her boyfriend’s mother.

Stephen Wolfe (24), of Holly Lane, falsely told her he was the featherweight champion of Hampshire and would turn up at her work and attack her.

He sent her texts, Snapchat messages and voicemails threatening her with violence and saying he would sexually assault her boyfriend’s mother. When the terrified victim blocked him on those platforms, he got a new phone and started sending “vile and nasty” messages on WhatsApp.

But the defendant told Southampton Crown Court she should have realised he was “obviously chatting rubbish” adding that: “It should have been clear to her what I was saying was utter rubbish.”

The court heard she had been left fearful after Wolfe repeatedly told her he was going to hurt her.

He also knew where she worked and went to college, and threatened to turn up at both, saying he was going to “beat her” there.

The Bournemouth resident was also warned by Wolfe – who pleaded guilty to sending a communication threatening death or serious harm on 8th August last year – not to go the beach in the town. He said he would find her and attack her there, too.

In a victim impact statement the victim, who had never met Wolfe, said the threats made her scared “there are people out there who are like this”.

She said she had started waking up in the night fearing he was outside, adding that her fear was heightened by the fact that she did not know properly what he looked like “or what he is capable of”.

Prosecutor Nicola Sully told how Wolfe and the girl began talking over Snapchat in March last year. But by the summer she had become “concerned” about the content of some of his messages and blocked him.

Wolfe then started bombarding her with messages using other platforms and phoning her. Ms Sully said the girl had repeatedly told Wolfe to leave her alone, but he had refused.

When the threats escalated to include her boyfriend’s mother, the girl went to the police in August last year, and Wolfe, who has two previous convictions for threatening behaviour, was arrested.

Defending, Lauren Matthews said Wolfe believed that he and the victim had “some sort of relationship and would eventually meet”.

He found out she was seeing someone after she had blocked him, which the court heard had angered him. Ms Matthews said the defendant had told the girl she should have realised he was “chatting rubbish”.

Ms Matthews said she had made it clear to Wolfe that the threats “had been very real” to the girl, and he now realised he should not have made them.

She said Wolfe had had a “difficult childhood”, as his dad had died when he was young and he had a “fractured” relationship with his mother.

He had been diagnosed with ADHD, a motorcycle accident had left him with a limp, and he had been unable to find work since leaving school.

But he now wished to “have a better future for himself” and was trying to find employment.

Giving Wolfe an 18-month community order, Judge Timothy Mousley KC told him he had caused his victim “significant fear” and that his threats had gone on for a “period of time”.

He also gave the defendant a three-year restraining order prohibiting him from contacting the victim, and fined him £500. He was also ordered to complete 40 days of rehabilitation activity.

As the defendant left the dock he shouted at the judge: “I blocked her on social media! She did not block me, I blocked her!”