Pregnant woman’s marriage broke down after rape threats from stalker

A stalker bombarded random women he found online with rape threats and constant calls in a ‘gratuitous campaign of harassment’.

One of Joshua Reilly’s victims said his unwanted messages led to the breakdown of her marriage when she was pregnant because her husband thought she was cheating.

She was one of four women Reilly, 20, threatened to rape between October 2017 and February 2018.

The woman, who was due to give birth, said Reilly contacted her on social media and called 60 times on the first day of harassment.

In one of the five calls she answered, Reilly said: ‘Get your p**** out. I’m going to f*****g rape you.’

He made a further 33 calls to the woman over the following week.

In a victim statement, she said: ‘I’m scared to go out of the house and don’t like being alone.’

She worried that he would come to her home and says she couldn’t sleep at night.

The victim added: ‘I don’t know if he knows where I live. I can’t live a normal life.

Her partner thought she was seeing someone else and did not believe the messages were from a stranger.

She added: ‘It put a huge strain on my relationship leading to my marriage breaking down.

‘I feel I’m being watched all the time, and not knowing who this person was made me nervous in every part of my life.’

The other three victims were targeted after placing items for sale online through Gumtree or Facebook.

In each case, Reilly, from Hull, contacted them to ask if the items were still for sale before making sexual threats.

When one victim declined to sell Reilly some headphones at the price he wanted, he told her: ‘No, you will sell it to me for £20 or I’ll rape you.’

Reilly also bombarded that victim with calls and said in one: ‘Let’s see if your daughter cries while I rape you.’

He admitted three counts of putting a person in fear of violence by harassment, and an offence under the Malicious Communications Act at Hull Crown Court in April.

He had two previous convictions for sexual assault against a girl under 13 when he was a juvenile.

Claire Holmes, defending, said he now had some insight into his offending and was genuinely remorseful.

Sentencing Reilly, Judge David Tremberg told him: ‘You undertook a gratuitous campaign of vile harassment and intimidation, targeting four entirely blameless female victims who had the most minor connection with you.

‘You operate well below the average range of abilities in most, if not all, respects.

‘You are isolated, lacking the support most people take for granted. You would be a very vulnerable prisoner.’

The judge said giving Reilly a suspended sentence to build on ‘improvements and diminish the risk’ in future would be better than a spell in prison.

He received a ten months, suspended for two years, and was ordered to undertake up to 30 days rehabilitation.