Sunderland attacker jailed after harassing woman with unwanted phone calls, messages and visits

Daniel Howell was locked up for 22 weeks after Sunderland magistrates decided the offence was “aggravated by the defendant’s record of previous offending”.

They also sentenced him without a pre-sentence report because “custody is inevitable”.

Howell, 25, of Lakeside Gardens, Columbia, Washington, admitted harassing his victim over the course of more than a month between September 1 and October 5 in that he “made unwanted phone calls, sent unwanted messages and harassed her at her property”.

He also received a four-week concurrent jail term, to be served as part of the longer sentence, after pleading guilty to assaulting the same woman on April 8.

A restraining order was imposed by the court to forbid him from entering a named Washington street or any other street he knows his victim is residing at once he is released.

Howell, whose guilty pleas were taken into account when imposing his final sentence, must also pay a £128 victim surcharge and £85 prosecution costs at a rate of £10 per fortnight from January 24 next year.

Three other charges against him were dismissed at the same hearing.

They were separate counts of using threatening or abusive words or behaviour on September 2 and September 3, one supposedly against his assault and harassment victim and one against a second person, and one allegation of causing his victim to fear that violence would be used against her between October 2 and October 5.

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