A TEXT troll has been branded as a menace and told to leave his victim alone or face a prison sentence.

Christopher Bull repeatedly broke orders to leave the woman from South Devon alone and contacted her even when he was on police bail.

He sent a stream of abusive messages over a period of months and carried on doing so after having served one short jail sentence.

The victim wrote an impact statement that said she despaired of him ever leaving her alone because he had no empathy for other people and does not care about what the police or courts may do to him.

Bull, aged 28, formerly of Teignmouth but now living in Coronation Road, Newton Abbot, admitted harassment and breaching a non-molestation order and was jailed for 12 months, suspended for two years by Judge Timothy Rose.

He was ordered to do 30 hours of rehabilitation activities and curfewed for three months. He was banned from any further contact by a restraining order and told the penalty for breaking it is a jail sentence of up to five years.

The judge told him: ’The breach of the non-molestation order did not involve acts of violence or damage but they did involve the most abusive text messages.

’Your continuing attempts at contact are aggravated by your previous convictions and while you were awaiting court appearances.

’You made an absolute menace of yourself and she says she doesn’t understand why you were doing it and that it was as if you had lost all concepts of having any empathy for other people.

’I have read the probation and psychological reports and you keep considering yourself as some way the victim and saying it wasn’t your fault.

’It is all "poor me" and saying you haven’t done much wrong.

’You think it is other people’s fault and you completely lack personal responsibility. You are 28 and it is time you grew up.’

The judge said he was suspending the sentence because of mental health difficulties and to give Bull a chance to work with probation. He warned him he would go to jail if he breaches this sentence.

Exeter Crown Court heard that Bull had a long-standing domestic dispute with the woman which led him to breach a non-molestation order and harass her by sending abusive texts in the latter part of last year.

The victim’s personal statement said: ’He has no empathy and doesn’t care about the hurtful things he says. He doesn’t care about the police or court orders.

’He thinks he will always get away with it because nothing changes and he keeps breaking the order.’

Mr William Parkhill, defending, said the victim had suffered distress but not very serious harm. Bull has psychological issues of his own and is ’a very damaged individual’.

He would benefit from help and support from probation which he would not receive if he was sent straight to jail.

BY CROWN COURT REPORTER