A MAN who was jailed for the attempted murder of his wife has now been convicted of harassing and stalking her from his prison cell.
Joseph O’Riordan, 77, was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2015 after stabbing his wife Amanda with a kitchen knife.
Today he pleaded guilty at Maidstone Crown Court to four offences of harassment and one offence of stalking during 2017.
Town councillor
O’Riordan, formerly of Polegate in East Sussex where he served as a town councillor, was sentenced to two years and four months in prison, to run consecutively with his 20-year sentence.
His Restraining Order was also changed to prohibit him from making any future court applications in relation to his former spouse, who divorced him in 2016.
The harassment offences related to four occasions between January and September 2017 on which O’Riordan sent vexatious civil claims applications by post from prison to her, in breach of a Crown Court Restraining Order.
This harassing conduct also amounted to stalking.
Damages claim
In his final application, O’Riordan issued a High Court claim demanding £90,000 damages.
He alleged his wife’s misrepresentations of him to the court and police were a substantial factor in his conviction.
The case was transferred to Brighton County Court where, like his previous claims, it was struck out as an abuse of process.
'No remorse'
Detective Constable Lindsey Valder-Davis, of the Surrey and Sussex Major Crime Team, said O’Riordan had drawn out the divorce proceedings and made baseless financial and damages claims.
“O’Riordan showed no true remorse for what he had done to his wife in 2014,” she said.
“She still bears the scars of this attack both mentally and physically and this has now been made even worse by his further attempt to exert yet further control over her, adding to her distress.
"She instituted divorce proceedings in 2015 but rather than accept this and allow the process to be dealt with quickly, he disputed he had behaved unreasonably.
“He contested the divorce, which led to proceedings taking nearly a year-and-a-half to conclude.”
Detective Constable Valder-Davis added: “The effect of these claims on Amanda is significant. The emotional and psychological effect was enormous, adding to that caused by the stabbing.”
See More: Joseph O'Riordan, Stalking, Susses
