A FUMING mother slammed a judge who let her ex “ticking time bomb” stalker free himself after bombarding her with threatening texts.
Sherry Ashby was so terrified of Steve Wall, 50, that she started dressing up with a baseball cap and sunglasses.
The thug continued to stalk her after assaulting her – although Sherry obtained a no-assault order preventing Wall from approaching within 100 yards of her house or threatening violence.
He also changed his WhatsApp profile picture to include spooky written warnings – including “I’ll finish you off” and “it’s a matter of time,” the Mirror reports.
But he was spared jail after admitting to being harassed and two counts of violating a non-molestation order at Warwick Crown Court earlier this month.
Instead, Wall received an injunction and ordered to complete ten days of rehabilitation activity by recorder Balraj Bhatia QC.
The judge noted that Wall had invested £ 160,000 in Sherry’s Cafe, saying: ‘You have no doubt felt used up’.
He added: “I accept that you are a man of good character, decent, caring and well respected and that you run a very successful business.
“It seems like it’s been a pretty intense relationship. You have freely given your time and affection and you have reflected your commitment to Miss Ashby by investing a significant amount of money so that she can achieve her ambition.
But Sherry has now denounced the remarks and the soft phrase and said she felt like she was being judged instead.
She said, “The sentence was a joke after everything he put me through. I left the court feeling humiliated. ”
Sherry met Wall on a dating site in 2016 and moved into the house she shared with her daughter a year later.
She said she believed he was “the love of my life” and that she used the money from his high paying job to pay the bills.
‘TIME BOMB’
But Sherry said she was spoiled by the father, who put her on a “pedestal” and “showered me with gifts.”
Wall also offered to fund Sherry’s dream of opening a cafe and she eventually gave in to his offer.
The couple switched roles – Wall taking over the payment of household bills.
But in 2019, Wall’s behavior changed and he started to get jealous of the number of hours Sherry worked at the cafe.
She said: “He was convinced that I had adventures but it was all in his head.
“He was like a time bomb. I asked him to take the time to calm down but he didn’t want to leave me alone. I couldn’t live like this. I had to end it. “
‘TERRIFIE’
In March 2020, Wall moved but rejected Sherry’s offer to buy him out of the company.
After a discussion about finances, Wall turned on Sherry and assaulted her – later accepting a warning.
Sherry got an order against Wall forbidding him to approach his home, but he continually flouted it.
Wall regularly bombarded her with phone calls and changed her profile pictures over 106 times in just four hours with threatening messages.
One included a photo of his reader with the word “everywhere” scrawled on it.
HOW YOU CAN GET HELP
HOW YOU CAN GET HELP:
Women’s Aid has this advice for victims and their families:
- Always keep your phone nearby.
- Reach out to charities for help, including Women’s Aid’s live chat hotline and services like SupportLine.
- If you are in danger, call 999.
- Familiarize yourself with the silent solution, report abuse without speaking on the phone, dial “55” instead.
- Always carry cash with you, including change for a public phone or bus ticket.
- If you think your partner is about to attack you, try going to a low-risk area of the house – for example, where there is an exit and access to a phone.
- Avoid the kitchen and garage, where there are likely knives or other weapons. Avoid rooms where you might be trapped, such as the bathroom, or where you might be locked in a closet or other small space.
If you are a victim of domestic violence, SupportLine is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on 01 708 765200. The association’s e-mail assistance service is open weekdays and weekends during the crisis – [email protected].
Women’s Aid offre un live chat service – available every day from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
You can also call the 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Hotline on 0808 2000 247.
Sherry said, “I was terrified. He walked past the company, appeared in the street when I went to the stores, parked his articulated truck at the end of my journey.
“I had a crime number list as long as my arm. Steve once pulled up beside me in a traffic jam, tearing up £ 50 bills and throwing them at me. He wanted to provoke me. He laughed in my face. I was petrified and believed my life was in danger.
Sherry said she went from being a “strong, independent woman to a nervous wreck” who couldn’t be left alone.
She started to wear a disguise and drove a borrowed van in hopes that Wall wouldn’t recognize her.
He was eventually charged, but Sherry is now outraged by the sentence and the judge’s remark.
She said: “I don’t feel protected. Justice let me down.
“I felt domestic violence, harassment and harassment were trivialized. No woman should be treated this way. “
