In 2022, Joshua O’Reilly, the Peterborough Stalker, harassed his ex-partner and disseminated private graphic images of her online following their breakup.
Joshua O’Reilly, 35, commenced stalking the woman following the termination of their affair last year.
After the dissolution of the partnership, Joshua O’Reilly commenced making multiple calls to the shop each day.
The woman was transferred to another branch due to the incessant phone calls, and Joshua O’Reilly was reported to the police for harassment, resulting in a caution.
During a week in September, the woman received multiple calls to her mobile phone from a withheld number at all hours, leading to O’Reilly’s arrest.
Call records indicated that Joshua O’Reilly contacted the victim several hundred times throughout eight days.
Joshua O’Reilly was granted bail; however, additional charges emerged when the victim revealed that 14 intimate photos of herself, together with her whole identity and workplace, had been posted on a website.
A police inquiry traced the IP address used to upload the photographs back to Joshua O’Reilly, revealing it was registered to his residence at Antonia Grove, Cardea, Peterborough.
Joshua O’Reilly was sentenced to 34 weeks of imprisonment today (Tuesday, 16 August 2022) at Cambridge Crown Court after previously pleading guilty to counts of stalking, releasing private sexual pictures without authorisation to cause distress, and failing to comply with court bail conditions.
He is also the subject of a 10-year restraining order.
Detective Constable Lloyd Davis, who conducted the investigation, stated: “Joshua O’Reilly’s conduct was obsessive and adversely affected not only the victim and her family but also her colleagues.”
I appreciate the victim’s courage in confronting Joshua O’Reilly; this required significant strength and yielded positive results.
“Legislation was enacted approximately seven years ago to empower us to take action against perpetrators of ‘revenge porn’.”
I trust that today’s sentencing conveys a definitive message that we will seek out perpetrators and bring them to justice.
If you or anyone you know has been affected by the people highlighted on this website, then please report those individuals to the Police on 101 (999 if an emergency) or visit their online resources for further details of the options for reporting a crime. You can also make a report to Crimestoppers should you wish to be completely anonymous. There is help available on our support links page.