Labour MP Stella Creasy was pursued for 10 years and showered with bizarre gifts including soft toys and a tobacco pipe by a man who wanted her to be his wife, a court heard.
Chinedu Nnamoko, 39, sent messages and emails declaring his love, which continued despite him being warned by police to cease, Stratford magistrates’ court heard. He had denied harassment without violence between December 14, 2018 and January 1 this year, but was yesterday found guilty after a trial.
Nnamoko, of Billericay, Essex, embarked on his campaign of harassment after meeting the MP only once. He took her photograph and posted it on social media while sending messages of love to her personal and Parliament email addresses. The court heard he was given a police final warning to stop harassing her in February 2017 but resumed his campaign in December. One email to the Walthamstow MP, read to the court by prosecutor Sonya Fox Smith, said “Happy Valentine’s Day — how many carat diamonds do you want?” However, one on December 14 was more sinister and read “Happy Christmas bitch”.
In a statement read to the court Ms Creasy, who is pregnant and this week called for maternity leave for MPs, said the harassment had gone on for more than a decade. She said: “Over the years he has professed his love for me. He became more direct and aggressive about his affection for me. He also sent me gifts which included teddy bears.”
The defendant claimed he did not mean to use threatening language and had not realised his behaviour amounted to harassment. He told the court: “I was in a bad place. I was trying to find a wife or girlfriend. I misread it.”
He was sentenced to a 12-month community order, fined £100 with a victim surcharge of £85 and prosecution costs of £300. He was ordered not to contact the MP “through email, social media, in person or by other means”.
