Northampton man jailed for stalking campaign against a woman
He told her that he would burn her house down.
A 28-year-old Northampton man has been jailed after he pleaded guilty to subjecting a woman to a prolonged stalking campaign, putting her in fear for her safety.
Declan Franklin appeared at Northampton Crown Court on Tuesday, September 30, where he changed his plea and admitted to stalking involving the fear of violence between October 2024 and April this year.
At the hearing, Franklin, previously of Ekins Close, Northampton, was sentenced to 40 months’ imprisonment and issued with an indefinite restraining order, preventing him from contacting the woman by any means.
The court was told that while a serving prisoner, Franklin had bombarded the woman with a significant number of threatening calls after learning that she had started a new relationship, putting her in fear of violence.
On March 14, Franklin told her that he would burn her house down, and believing he would, the woman bravely contacted Northamptonshire Police about his threatening behaviour and her safety concerns.
The subsequent investigation revealed the extent of Franklin’s harassment of the woman, and he was charged with stalking involving fear of violence, intentional strangulation and threats to damage/destroy property.
Ahead of last month’s planned crown court trial, Franklin changed his plea to guilty in relation to the stalking involving fear of violence charge, which resulted in him being sentenced to 40 months’ imprisonment.
He continued to deny the other offences and the judge ordered the threats to damage/destroy property and intentional strangulation counts to remain on file. Franklin was also ordered to pay a £187 surcharge.
Speaking after sentencing, Detective Constable Aoife McCormack from the Force’s Domestic Abuse Investigation Unit, who led the investigation, said: “This was a terrifying campaign of stalking by Declan Franklin, who continuously made threats towards this woman.
“No-one should have to live in fear or change the way they live because of someone else, and I would like to praise the brave woman who decided enough was enough and stood up to Franklin’s intolerable behaviour.
“We take allegations of stalking incredibly seriously and encourage anyone who has been affected by this type of behaviour to please contact police on 101, where you can speak to a police officer in confidence. Dial 999 in the event of an emergency or if a crime is ongoing.”