Wakefield man jailed over '˜torture' texts to former girlfriend

Scott Mangham, 26, was caught after his ex-girlfriend downloaded a mobile phone app which she used to record the abusive phone calls he made to her.

Leeds Crown Court heard Mangham was made the subject of a restraining order not to approach or contact the woman after he received a conviction on January 8 this year for being violent towards her.

Carmel Pearson, prosecuting, said Mangham contacted the victim on February 24 and she initially agreed to meet him. Miss Pearson said the woman went to pick him up in her car but Mangham “reverted to type” and became aggressive and abusive when she turned up 20 minutes late. The woman feared for her safety and drove off without allowing Mangham in to her car. Mangham turned up at her home in Wakefield and demanded to speak to her. The woman called police and Mangham was arrested but sent 21 threatening and abusive text messages to the mum-of-two the next day. One message read: “I will torture you for the rest of your life before I go to jail.”

She recorded Mangham when he made an abusive phone call to her. The court heard the victim had been suffering from depression as a result of Mangham’s offending and her eldest child was afraid to be at home. The prosecutor added: “She says her whole life has been altered by this short-lived relationship.

Mangham, of Cobb Avenue, Wakefield, pleaded guilty to breach of a restraining order.

Ben Thomas, mitigating, said Mangham had been in custody awaiting sentence since his arrest on March 4 this year and he had struggled to cope in custody. Mangham was jailed for 40 weeks.