In 2026, a 37-year-old former soldier was sentenced to 11 months’ imprisonment at Belfast Magistrates’ Court after being convicted of breaking into his former girlfriend’s home to steal her pet dog and subjecting her to violent threats and misogynistic abuse.
Gerald Verner, residing at Inverary Avenue, Belfast, appeared before District Judge Anne Marshall for sentencing following a contested hearing.
The prosecution detailed that the incident occurred in September last year at a residential property in the Carrickfergus area. Verner broke into the home of his former partner and removed her French Bulldog, alongside cash, bank cards, and a purse. The court heard the victim placed an emergency 999 call during the incident, expressing immediate terror that her pet would be killed.
Verner asserted in his defence that he had merely entered the premises to rescue the animal. However, the court heard he also conducted a campaign of online harassment, subjecting the victim to derogatory misogynistic slurs and issuing threats to kill. He warned the woman that he would not be incarcerated indefinitely, a tactic the court found was calculated to maintain continuous fear.
During proceedings, the court scrutinised Verner’s military background. While previous hearings had heard claims that Verner was a Royal Irish Regiment veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder after being injured by an improvised explosive device (IED) in Helmand Province, probation reports revealed no record of any such blast incident. Furthermore, despite Verner claiming an honourable discharge, probation documentation showed his military departure followed periods of unexplained absence and time spent in a military detention facility.
Following the contest, Verner was convicted of:
Burglary
Criminal damage
Threatening or abusive behaviour
Making a threat to kill
Persistent improper use of a communications network
Sending false messages
Passing sentence, District Judge Anne Marshall commended the victim’s bravery in giving evidence and addressing the court through her impact statement.
The judge told Verner:
“You used multiple forms of abuse, breaking into her house, taking her dog, putting up messages about her and threatening that you wouldn’t be in prison forever, obviously intended to keep her fearful of you. There were threats online, misogynistic language, you called her a w***, a tramp, a s*** and other terms that I won’t even repeat. Your record is violent, you are a repeated domestic abuser.”
The judge sentenced Verner to an immediate custodial sentence of 11 months.
In addition to the prison term, the court imposed a five-year Violent Offences Prevention Order (VOPO). Under the statutory terms of the order, Verner is prohibited from contacting the victim or referencing her on social media, and must formally notify designated police risk managers of any new intimate relationships. Verner was granted leave to appeal his conviction and sentence but was refused release on bail.
Image – Anonymous Artist Impression
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