A POLICE officer accused of stalking a fellow member over several months was simply trying to reconcile their relationship, his lawyer has argued.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The man, 42, has pleaded not guilty to stalking his ex partner – herself a police officer – and breaching court orders.
The Bendigo Magistrates Court again heard testimony from the alleged victim on Tuesday.
The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said the accused man had been seeing two women simultaneously after she ended their engagement.
She said the man had also cheated on her while they were together, but denied suggestions she was jealous.
“I was in no way jealous ... I was not jealous,” she said.
The alleged victim said finding out the man had cheated “vindicated” her decision to leave him.
“In fact the day I became aware of that information, I returned all the items he left at my house,” she said.
“I said we can’t be friends, do not contact me."
The man is accused of frequently contacting the woman via email, telephone and SMS, sending flowers, attending her house and leaving a document listing things he “brought to the table” in her yard.
The court heard the accused man used the internal Victoria Police email system to contact the woman, which the woman on Monday said had left her “in tears”.
The woman had repeatedly told the court she did not want to reconcile with the man, be friends, or be in contact, and had requested he stop contact.
But defence barrister Michael Cahill said there had been long stints without contact, and claimed she had contacted the alleged offender and discussed personal matters.
The woman said she had been forced to call him to finalise Optus bills as the man had failed to sort out the issue for several months.
Mr Cahill argued every phone call between October 10, 2012, and February 14, 2013, had been about reconciliation.
The alleged victim also said she had felt intimated when told by the accused man he knew how to get into her house.
Former colleague Senior Constable Sherryn Taylor told the court she had concerns over comments made by the woman, including that she had wanted to go to the man’s house and “throw her engagement ring in his face”.
The hearing continues.
