'He is a predator that needs to be stopped': Plumber sent customer 'barrage of vile messages' over three years
A Ludlow plumber who sent a customer a 'barrage of vile, suggestive messages' as well as images of his genitals over a three-year period has been placed on a curfew.
David Richard Dykes of Tenbury Road, Clee Hill, had admitted one count of harassment when he appeared before magistrates in Telford on Wednesday.
The court heard how the 40-year-old had been a gas plumber and his victim a customer.
Kate Price, prosecuting told the magistrates that their relationship had been “purely professional”.
Despite this, in October 2020, Dykes began to send his victim "multiple, unwanted sexual messages" using social media platform WhatsApp.
She told the court that the messaging went on for a three-year period, with Dykes changing his phone and number so that he could continue to send his victim a “barrage of vile, suggestive messages”.
He had also told her he would visit her address.
Ms Price said: “She didn't hear from him for a while so when she got a message from a new number she opened it as she did not know who it was from. She was then bombarded with sexual messages along with nude photos and pictures of his erect penis.”
In a statement read to the court, Dykes' victim said she had “never given him any encouragement” and described the defendant as a “nutcase” as well as a “predator that needs to be stopped”.
Dykes refused to speak in his defence, but told the court that he suffered “mental health issues” and had “not left the house for months”.
Magistrates placed Dykes on a curfew between 9am and 9pm, put him on an 18-month community order and placed a five-year restraining order on him that bans him from contacting his victim or travelling to the area where she lives.
He was also ordered to pay £199 in court costs and a victim surcharge.