A man who “caused complete misery” to neighbours by making false claims and allegations against them has been jailed.
Roy Gibson, 68, of Hessle, made numerous distressing accusations over a number of years including claiming someone had put pepper spray through his letterbox.
He denied the offences but was sentenced to four-and-a-half years imprisonment and handed a lifetime restraining order after being found guilty by a jury at Doncaster Crown Court of three counts of breaching a Stalking Protection Order and assaulting a police officer following a three-day trial which he refused to attend.
Gibson had been given a Stalking Protection Order (SPO) in December last year following a number of reports from his neighbours that he had a vendetta against them and had been verbally abusing and harassing them over a number of years. The SPO was initially in place until March this year but, within weeks, he had breached the conditions imposed on him to prevent him contacting or making vexatious complaints about his neighbours.
During the early hours of Monday, December 23, Gibson called the non-emergency number 101 claiming someone had sprayed pepper spray into his letterbox. House-to-house enquiries and a review of CCTV by officers found no evidence to back up his claims.
Police then went to arrest Gibson on Christmas Eve. He resisted and assaulted a police officer causing injuries to his hand. He was later bailed pending further investigation.
However, in February, Gibson made another call, this time claiming there had been a theft from his property. He implicated his neighbour and alleged they had been entering his address while he was out and damaging his belongings.
Gibson was arrested again three days later for again breaching his SPO. While in custody, he refused to provide any information to officers or answer any questions in interview.
Detective Constable Mike Simpson, of Humberside Police, led the investigation. He said: “This was a campaign of abuse against innocent people who had done nothing to incite such a severity of ongoing torment from Gibson as he continuously complained, made false claims, and allegations against them.
“Even after Gibson was handed an SPO, he showed nothing but disregard for how his behaviour would impact those he targeted, completely ignoring the conditions and continuing to cause distress and upset.
Join our WhatsApp Community for the latest crime news
“Not only this, but he has also shown a sheer lack of respect for the entire court process by then refusing to attend his three-day trial at Doncaster Crown Court and prolonging the torment by denying any knowledge of the offences and making the victims sit through a trial.
“This was a joint effort between multiple departments, and I’d like to thank Beverley Criminal Investigation Department, the Beverley and Kirk Ella Neighbourhood Policing teams, as well as the force Senior Lawyer for securing the SPO to protect the victims in the first place, and for their determination to hold Gibson accountable for his behaviour.
“This is an excellent example of team working to not only secure the SPO but also a custodial sentence for someone who, in my opinion, does not care about anything or anyone.
“I hope the result here sends out a stark warning to anyone who thinks it’s okay to cause complete misery to others, that you will be prosecuted.
“We would urge anyone who feels harassed, threatened or has feelings of dread whilst living in their own home and in their own community, to please speak to officers, or call us via our non-emergency number 101.”