A Peel man has been put on probation for 18 months for harassing his ex-partner.

Richard Philip Kneen sent multiple messages which the woman said made her feel threatened and intimidated.

The 29-year-old admitted the harassment offence, as well as an offence of intent to cause unlawful violence.

Prosecuting advocate Barry Swain told the court that Kneen had been in a relationship with the complainant which had ended two and a half years ago.

She said that Kneen, who lives at Derby Drive, had sent her multiple unwanted text messages between February 28 and April 7 this year.

She said that she had a new partner, and Kneen sent her one message saying ‘He looks nice. He would look even better in your back garden.’

The woman said that she felt threatened and intimidated by the messages, which were regular, despite her saying that she made little or no response to them.

On May 30, Kneen put up a Facebook status which accused the woman’s new partner of sleeping with a child, something which her partner said caused him concern about the impact on his reputation.

Police invited Kneen to a voluntary interview but he didn’t attend.

The woman said that she was anxious whenever her phone rang or a new message appeared.

On June 2, Kneen was said to have arrived at her home to collect the child they had together, but the woman told him she was at her mother’s house.

Kneen then went there, but the mother refused to answer the door, as he was described as aggressive.

Kneen was then said to have got a metal bar out of his car boot and stood outside waving it around, shouting for his daughter to come outside.

He was later arrested and admitted his messages were too much and could have been deemed harassing.

He denied waving the bar around or shouting, but accepted that he made the Facebook post and that it had been a baseless accusation.

Defence advocate Paul Glover asked for credit to be given for his client’s guilty plea and the fact that he had no previous convictions.

Mr Glover said that Kneen’s offending had come from his frustration at child care arrangements, but that he was now engaging with an advocate.

A probation report said that the defendant had issues with thinking patterns and coping mechanisms, which a period of supervision would allow time to work on.

Mr Glover asked the court to follow the recommendation of the report for a period of probation, and said that the offences had now been several months ago, and there had been no further incidents, so a restraining order was not necessary.

Deputy High Bailiff Rachael Braidwood also ordered Kneen to pay £125 prosecution costs, which he will pay at a rate of £50 per month.