A STALKER who repeatedly contacted his former partner in breach of an intervention order has been jailed for two months.
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The 49-year-old man was sentenced in the Bendigo Magistrates' Court on Tuesday after he pleaded guilty to stalking, persistently contravening a family violence intervention order, and contravening bail.
The man is still contesting a sexual assault charge stemming from an alleged incident on February 14 this year.
The court heard an interim family violence intervention order was issued on March 2, with the man's former partner listed as the protected person.
The man was not allowed to contact the woman, be within 200 metres of her address, or have a different person offend for him.
On March 13, a friend of the woman gave her a letter from the man, which the woman did not open.
The next day, the man sent the woman 15 messages. He apologised to the woman and told her she "didn't need to worry about (him) harassing her".
The victim then read the letter she had received the day prior. The man said he would kill himself if he was jailed and that the woman should "think of the consequences".
About 6.40pm that day, the woman went to the Bendigo Police Station to report the offending.
The man was arrested and questioned on March 15. He admitted to writing the letter and told police that he loved the woman.
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The man was bailed from the Bendigo Magistrates' Court later that day.
The court heard on April 15, the man went to the woman's house and placed a note under her door, telling her he loved her.
Later that day, the man contacted the woman, telling her not to proceed with the criminal charges or intervention order. The man also told the woman to delete the messages he had sent.
The court heard between April 21 and April 23, the man sent the woman 65 messages and tried to call her on Facebook eight times.
The man went to the woman's house about 7.30pm on April 23, where he rang the doorbell and gave her a bottle of alcohol when she opened the door.
The next day, the man messaged the woman another 17 times and she responded by asking him to leave her alone.
The victim contacted police that day and made a statement to officers.
After she left the station, the man sent her more Facebook messages and went to her home.
He sent the woman more than 20 messages and tried to call her six times after she didn't answer the door.
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That evening, the man went to the woman's house again. The court heard the man went into her backyard and tried to open the back door.
Police arrived at the property a short time later but the man fled. He turned himself into police on April 27.
A victim impact statement was submitted to the court on Tuesday.
Magistrate Russell Kelly said the statement made it clear the woman did not want any contact with her former partner.
"Make no mistake, she wants nothing to do with you," Mr Kelly said. "If you contact her, you will breach the order and you will go to jail for a long time.
"I will throw this conversation back in your face if you breach the order and come back before me."
Mr Kelly convicted and sentenced the man to two months in jail, with 14 days reckoned as already served.
The man was ordered to complete an 18-month community corrections order when released, which would include mental health treatment and supervision.
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