Derry stalker who kept a secret diary of victims for nine years is jailed

A man who admitted sending one hundred and thirty-two pages of graphic and sexualised messages to two women who he knew and who kept a secret diary of their movements for nine years, has been jailed for twelve months at Derry Magistrate's Court.

Sean O'Farrell (63) from Brookdale Crescent in Derry who had no previous criminal convictions, admitted two charges of stalking his victims and of harassing one of them on various dates between January 2021 and December 2024.

District Judge Suzanne Rice also imposed a Stalking Protection Order and a Restraining Order on the defendant, both Orders to run for five years. She further ordered the defendant to pay his victims a total of £2,500 in compensation and gave him sixteen weeks to pay that amount.

The court heard the defendant befriended one of his victims when she contacted him in his workplace at the North-West Advice Centre about an employment related matter.

He then befriended his second victim who had asked him to install doorbell CCTV cameras in her home, unaware that he was her stalker.

A prosecution barrister told the court that O'Farrell's covert surveillance of his two victims included him sending them "messages about bondage, hoods and chains".

The prosecutor said O'Farrell had subjected his victims to a prolonged campaign of stalking causing both of them to become traumatised.

Defence barrister Stephen Mooney said he could not contradict the description of O'Farrell's behaviour as being 'reprehensible'.

He said it was 'serious, disgraceful, deviant and concerning behaviour'

The barrister accepted there were numerous 'aggravating factors' in the case but added the defendant has no criminal convictions.

Mr Mooney said that during his police interviews he made full and immediate admissions and spared his victims from having to give evidence in court.

The barrister added: "His remorse is genuine, his apologies are complete, unequivocal and abject".

The District Judge said O'Farrell's behaviour had had a dramatic and significant impact on both women, on their private and professional lives and on their wider family circles.

Jailing O'Farrell, she told him 'to say your behaviour was reprehensible is only the tip of the iceberg'.

She said that O'Farrell had engaged in a 'prolonged period of covert, offensive behaviour and you kept a diary for eight or nine years of your covert surveillance of these two women.'

The judge said the defendant had 'breached the trust they'd placed in you'.

'Your actions have had long lasting consequences for both women who have had to take protective steps because of your unjustified campaign of stalking and harassing them.'