An “obsessive†ex-girlfriend who sent threatening text messages to her former partner and sprayed “cheater†on his car after their break-up has been spared a conviction.
Kiara Mack pleaded guilty to six charges including stalking, unlawful assault, criminal damage and using a carriage service to harass in relation to the offences, which spanned April to July, 2020.
The 23-year-old had broken up with her partner but was in the grips of depression when she started to harass the man, the court heard.
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Her lawyer, Angeline Centrone, told the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Tuesday her client was struggling in isolation during Melbourne’s strict lockdown.
Mack’s ex-boyfriend also supported the accountant and did not want police to lay charges but instead wanted the woman to get treatment, the court was told.
During the hearing, the woman broke down and was comforted by a family member.
On April 23, she spray-painted her victim’s black Volkswagen and days later started to bombard him with messages on social media.
“I know where you live, I know where you work, I know your footy club, I know your favourite bars, I know the code to your house,†she told him.
She also told him she was “initiating phase 2†and that she could “reach through the gate so that doesn’t really stop anythingâ€.
A month later the victim moved and did not respond to Mack’s messages but she persisted.
The accountant posted “intimate†photos of her former partner on Instagram stories, and the man believed they were public.
Instead only he could see the photos and Mack posted them with “the intention that the victim would think the post was publicâ€, according to a police summary.
Her actions continued to escalate and she drove around Prahran until she found the man’s car in May.
She spray painted it with the word “cheater†and a love heart before texting him.
She then sent him a series of texts.
“Checkmate†one read.
Another said: “I’m sorry you do the things you do.â€
She then wrote: “no need to chat tomorrow x.â€
In July, the court heard, Mack punched, scratched and struck her victim with a shoe outside his home.
“Your life is over I have a book of plans to make sure of it,†Mack said in a text after the assault.
She was arrested in her pyjamas that day and told officers her victim played footy and that’s why he had scratches.
“He plays footy and there is often scratches on him,†Mack told police.
When asked if there was any physical contact she said “I’m not sureâ€.
Magistrate Peter Reardon labelled the woman’s behaviour “obsessive†and said her offending was serious.
“People have to understand that the other person in their life is not owned by them and they are entitled to move on,†he said.
However he also slammed police for their treatment of Mack after she was released following her arrest.
The woman was forced to walk for 20 minutes in her pyjamas to the parents of her victim to ask them to call an Uber, the court was told.
He took into account her remorse, her mental health issues, which included borderline personality disorder, depression and anxiety.
The woman was also planning to check into a mental health clinic she previously spent two weeks after the offending.
The magistrate ordered Mack to pay a $1000 fine.
She was ordered to serve a 15 month community corrections order but was spared conviction.
Court reporter
Sydney
