A scheming bully subjected his ex-girlfriend to a campaign of sinister “mind games” throughout the last eight months of her life, a court has heard.
Graham Thompson faked a video of himself in hospital as part of a devious attempt to trick former partner Jamilla Aladin to visit his home.
And he wrote to her bosses at SEPA, making false criminal allegations against her.
Thompson, 39, bombarded Miss Aladin with calls, texts and social media messages whenever she stepped out with friends, Perth Sheriff Court heard.
And when Miss Aladin tried repeatedly calling him to end the relationship, he reported her to the police and got her arrested.
Guilty plea
Thompson, who admitted an abusive course of behaviour between December 2019 and July last year, was jailed for eight months on Wednesday.
Sheriff Neil Bowie told Thompson: “This is a serious offence.
“It happened over an eight month period – the last eight months of this lady’s life, sadly.
“You clearly caused significant distress and in my view it was manipulative and abusive, the way you constantly contacted her while she was out seeing friends and when she left you.”
He said: “You have a poor record of offending in the past. You have numerous convictions for disorder, assault and dishonesty.
“Given the nature of this offence, the only appropriate sentence in this case is a custodial one.”
‘Very intense’ relationship
Fiscal depute Andrew Harding said that Thompson and Miss Aladin were in a relationship from August 2019 to March 2020.
“Miss Aladin described the relationship as being good at the start, but very intense and hard work at times because of the accused’s use of alcohol,” he said. “He was known to be very persuasive.”
The court heard that Thompson drank heavily, and was often absent from his work.
When Miss Aladin went out for drinks the week before Christmas 2019, he texted her and told her to return home or he would “end up in Perth Royal Infirmary“.
In March, when she was at a friend’s house, Thompson send a text saying he would kill himself if she didn’t return home.
When she went back, she found that he had sealed up the letter box and put a mop behind the door.
“The accused told her that people there had told him to do this,” Mr Harding told the court. “But when she went inside, she found no one else there.
“It was at this point Miss Aladin knew she had to end the relationship.”
Plea for help
She agreed that she would not leave, but asked her partner to stop drinking and seek help.
“In May, Miss Aladin went to stay with a friend. Because of her relationship with the accused at this time, she told him she was staying with her sister,” said Mr Harding. “She thought the accused would be angry if he knew the truth.”
Thompson sent a text saying he had overdosed on her medication and she needed to come to him. Miss Aladin replied that he needed to sober up. “He continued to message her,” said Mr Harding.
“The next day, Miss Aladin returned to the accused’s address only to find that the door had been blocked shut.
“She decided to end the relationship and went to stay with her mother.”
Fake hospital clip
Later that day, Miss Aladin and her sister went to collect her belongings from Thompson’s flat. But they left when he tried to stop her sister from getting inside.
That evening, he sent her a series of text messages pleading with her to return home.
On May 21, Thompson texted Miss Aladin and told her he had an appointment at Murray Royal Hospital in Perth.
He called later, saying he was at the hospital. But when Miss Aladin became suspicious and asked for a videocall, she could see he had not left his flat.
Some time later, Thompson sent her a video message which appeared to show him at the hospital.
“He was walking around and appeared to be under the influence of something,” Mr Harding said. “He said he was in hospital and asked Miss Aladin to pick up some belongings for him.
“Miss Aladin and her sister went to his flat. They knocked at the door and heard footsteps inside.
“They then heard a key turning in the lock. Both Miss Aladin and her sister exited the area.
“She later received a text with a wink emoji.”
Mr Harding said: “Miss Aladin felt that this was merely a game to Mr Thompson, and he had tricked her to going to his address.”
Email to SEPA boss
In June, after another barrage of texts Miss Aladin asked Thompson to delete her number. He replied with the name of her employers: “SEPA“.
“He told her he had sent an email to the CEO of SEPA,” said Mr Harding. “She became extremely alarmed by this.
“She called her workplace and was told that email was received from the accused, but they did not divulge what was said in the email.”
He said: “Miss Aladin felt that the accused was playing mind games in an effort to disrupt her life.”
She continued to receive texts and Facebook messages. “On July 17, she became extremely angry so she called him several times leaving a voicemail,” said Mr Harding.
“The accused contacted the police regarding this, and Miss Aladin was arrested and charged.”
The court heard that Miss Aladin later reported her former partner’s behaviour to the police.
A solicitor for Thompson said his client had since moved to Aberdeen to begin a new life.
“They were two people who were simply unsuited to being in a long-term relationship,” he said. “His behaviour became more abusive when Miss Aladin wanted nothing more to do with him.”
He said: “His regret is deep.”
