Pub landlord, 53, loses appeal against 16 week jail term

2022-10-03

Pub landlord, 53, who bombarded ex-girlfriend with messages and accused her of domestic abuse in harassment campaign on TikTok after they broke up loses appeal against 16 week jail term

Gareth Slattery abused his former partner in a TikTok video seen 20,000 times
The 53-year-old was convicted of harassing without violence in September
He has now lost his appeal against the 16-week prison sentence given last month

An award-winning pub landlord is behind bars after a ‘vile’ online message was watched 20,000 times on Tik Tok.

Gareth Slattery, 53, carried out a campaign of abuse against his former partner — branding her a ‘racist and a gold digger’.

Slattery, from Barry, Wales, also accused her of giving him a sexually transmitted disease during a torrent of abuse after their eight-month relationship ended.

Abigail Jackson, prosecuting, said: ‘He messaged her, “I would like you to know you are a TikTok sensation.”

The court was told one Tik Tok post targeting the victim had attracted 20,000 views.

Slattery appealed the 16-week jail sentence he was given in September, but his appeal was dismissed by a judge who told him he was the architect of his own downfall.

Welsh landlord Gareth Slattery, 53, lost his appeal after being sentenced to 16 weeks in jail for stalking and harassing his ex-girlfriend

Slattery had bombarded his ex with unwanted messages and turned up at her workplace, her home and solicitors’ office

He owns the Butterfly Collector pub in Barry, South Wales, which won SME National Business Awards Pub of the Year in 2019.

He was found guilty of harassment following a trial at Cardiff Magistrates’ Court, but tried to overturn the sentence at Cardiff Crown Court.

Slattery had bombarded his ex with unwanted messages and turned up at her workplace, her home and solicitors’ office.

In the TikTok video, he accused his former partner of being a narcissist and abuser.

He said: ‘I’m a 53-year-old victim of domestic violence. As a male victim I am not heard… this is what you have done to me.’

The magistrates court heard the harassment took place between August and September last year.

District Judge Stephen Harmes said Slattery, who has previous convictions of harassment and breaching a restraining order, tried to claim he was a victim of abuse but in reality he abused his victim in a ‘vile manner’.

Prosecutor Georgia Donohue said the now removed video which tagged the victim was posted online on August 23, 2021, before he showed up at her workplace a day later.

Slattery owns the award-winning Butterfly Collector pub in Barry, south Wales

‘He has brought his present situation upon himself,’ Judge Paul Hobson said at Cardiff Crown Court

Ms Donohue said Slattery stood outside her office and called her on the phone, saying: ‘I’m not going to come anywhere near you. I don’t want any more herpes and chlamydia.’

The court heard the victim visited her solicitor the following day to seek advice when she heard Slattery shouting: ‘You piece of s***. You piece of s***.’

Ms Donohue said: ‘She saw the defendant standing there. She knew the comments were aimed at her as there was no one else in the area.’

The court heard the victim also heard her ex shouting about herpes while she was in her bedroom on August 26.

The next day she spotted him on her way to Tesco when she asked: ‘Please don’t talk to me, I’m not allowed to talk to you.’

But he shouted that the victim ‘has herpes’ which the call handler heard while she was on the phone to 999.

Slattery was convicted of harassing without violence after a trial and was sentenced to 16 weeks in jail, ordered to pay the victim £500 compensation and handed a five year restraining order, but appealed the decision

Aled Owen, representing Slattery, told the magistrates court at the time of sentencing that four people at the pub could lose their jobs if he was sent into custody.

Judge Harmes concluded at the magistrates court: ‘I find he did set out to make her life a misery. It was quite calculated and deliberate.’

‘This was as bad as it gets in terms of harassment. You are a proven harasser and this was an awful case.’

Ieuan Rees, representing Slattery, told Cardiff Crown Court at the appeal: ‘There were no overt threats of violence or anything of that nature.’

His barrister said: ‘He runs a pub, it’s a micro pub and the turnover isn’t great but during the fortnight he has been in custody taking are down by at least 25 per cent.

‘This will have a knock on effect on his four employees.’

Mr Rees added: ‘He’s in a new relationship and your honour will have seen a letter from her, she sits at the back of the court.

‘She is in fact a headmistress in Penarth and she’s doing her best at the moment to carry out her own duties and assist him with keeping the pub running.’

Judge Paul Hobson said: ‘Mr Slattery posted a number of defamatory videos about her online on his TikTok account.

‘He is an individual with an entirely warped attitude to issues of this kind.’

‘He has brought his present situation upon himself.’

Source: Read Full Article