The defendant appealed against his conviction for stalking under the 1977 Act, saying that the complainant had been put in fear on only one occasion.
Held: The appeal failed: ‘a plain and natural reading of the wording of section 4A (1)(b) (i) of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 reveals that the section is wide enough to look to incidents of violence in the future and not only to incidents giving rise to a fear of violence arising directly out of the incident in question. Nor is there any requirement for the fear to be of violence on a particular date or time in the future, or at a particular place or in a particular manner, or for there to be a specific threat of violence. There can be a fear of violence sufficient for the statute where that fear of violence is of violence on a separate and later occasion. The position can be tested simply by reference to the example of somebody saying ‘I’ll come back and get you’.’
David LJ, Carr DBE, Patterson DBE JJ
[2016] EWCA Crim 1543
Bailii
Protection from Harassment Act 1977 4A(1)(b)(i)
England and Wales
Crime
Updated: 24 January 2022; Ref: scu.570555