A man received more than $23,500 to write "voluminous, offensive, abusive" letters and assist a stalker breach a court order designed to protect the victim.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
He has narrowly avoided time behind bars after aiding "insidious" stalker John Owen Kirk in his four-year "campaign of terror" against a woman he first met briefly at a party.
In the ACT Magistrates Court on Thursday, Tiger Rosemont, 61, pleaded guilty to two counts of aiding and abetting a person to contravene a protection order.
Rosemont, who appeared via audio-visual link, could be seen clutching a silver cross on a necklace during court proceedings.
Magistrate Glenn Theakston sentenced Rosemont to three months jail, to be suspended upon him entering into a good behaviour order for three years.
"Those letters are long, voluminous, offensive, abusive rants designed patently to cause offence," Mr Theakston said.
"The whole system relies upon respondents understanding there will be a consequence for breaching these orders.
"Nothing other than a period of imprisonment would be appropriate."
Kirk had sent the victim, and her parents, a deluge of anonymous letters and paid Rosemont, who lived in Queensland, to send them. He transferred the 61-year-old more than $23,500.
During Kirk's sentencing in January, the victim described these letters as "being up to 50 pages long" and containing "derogatory and demeaning statements".
"The weight of responsibility and guilt I bear for exposing [my parents] to this torment is overwhelming," she stated.
"Within those envelopes lay a constant reminder of the danger that loomed over our lives ... robbing us of the peace and security we once knew."
On Thursday, defence lawyer Nicholas Schoemaker said his client had been diagnosed with autism and was a "vulnerable person who others may take advantage of".
Mr Schoemaker stated Rosemont had been married six times over 25 years.
Prosecutor Ilsa Hattam said the content of the letters was "highly harassing ... and frightening".
She told the court Rosemont and Kirk had tried to "disguise their identity" in a "premeditated and planned" breach of the protection order.
The Canberra Times previously revealed Kirk's nearly four-year campaign of harassment, during which he replicated one of the victim's tattoos on his own skin.
Court documents for Kirk show the stalker met his victim at a mutual friend's birthday party in Kambah in 2019.
The woman's reluctance to exchange phone numbers set off a chain of events that began with Kirk posing as a fictitious ex-boyfriend to abuse her on Snapchat and then sending her a video of himself holding a knife.
He also lay behind a car to prevent her leaving an area, and incessantly sent the woman unwanted gifts that included Swarovski crystal bears and a framed collage featuring the victim.
In the week leading up to a personal protection order lapsing, Kirk posted images on his social media accounts of a countdown to its expiry.
At one point Kirk even moved to a place 900 metres away from the victim's home.
Earlier this year Kirk was sentenced to three-and-a-half years behind bars with a 22-month non-parole period. He will be eligible for release in November 2025.
- Support is available for those who may be distressed. Phone Lifeline 13 11 14; MensLine 1300 789 978; Kids Helpline 1800 551 800; beyondblue 1300 224 636; 1800-RESPECT 1800 737 732.
