A woman whose stalker threatened to rape her is “terrified” about his release from prison and counting the days until he gets out.
James Steele, 53, was jailed for five years in February 2021 after a chilling campaign of terror against co worker Una Ring.
He was arrested outside her house in Youghal, Co Cork as he tried to break in and rape the mum-of-two.
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Una, who campaigned for new laws against stalking, said his release could be as early as April 2024.
She told the Irish Sunday Mirror: “Once he gets out I will be terrified. He will have to abide by parole conditions, but that’s the scariest thing for me.
“I’m afraid that if he doesn’t abide by the conditions he will turn up at my door and he could do me serious harm.
“He will have strict probation but nobody is going to be babysitting him 24/7. I will be told if he is being let out but after that it’s just a case of looking over my shoulder.”
Australian Steele is serving his sentence at Arbour Hill in Dublin and is now a registered sex offender.
His relentless campaign of harassment started with a barrage of texts to Una but it quickly escalated.
He was arrested on July 27, 2020, after turning up at her home with duct tape, rope, a crowbar and a prosthetic penis strapped to him. In 2021 he was jailed for seven years, with two suspended, after pleading guilty to harassment, attempted burglary with intent to rape and a weapons charge.
Una said stalking is so prevalent she’s had to step away from a support website she set up with Eve McDowell after getting more than 70 cries for help every week. She said: “We were just completely overwhelmed by the amount of people who were contacting us.
“Some of the stories we were hearing were horrendous and were going on for years and we are not qualified to help. We didn’t have the training to deal with it emotionally or practically. We were still trying to recover from our own ordeal and it became too much.”
Una and fellow stalking survivor Eve will meet with Justice Minister Simon Harris tomorrow to discuss planned new legislation to tackle stalking.
She said; “I don’t think it [new law] is moving fast enough. Do we need somebody to die before anything is done about it?”
Una voiced her support for proposed legislation outlawing the practice of an accused stalker being able to cross examine their alleged victim in court.
She said: “It doesn’t happen all that often but it shouldn’t happen at all.
“It only traumatises the victim all over again. I’m sure that’s part of the intimidation tactics.
“If a person commits a crime they should be the one that’s questioned.”
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