A SMITTEN pizza shop worker failed to heed warnings to end his unwanted advances to a female colleague, a court heard.

Raed Khirfan bombarded the woman with messages exclaiming his love for her and suggested they should be married, despite the fact she was in a stable relationship with young children.

Durham Crown Court was told the Jordanian national, permitted to work in this country while his asylum claim is considered, was made subject of a complaint to police in April, after months of the harassment.

Rather than face prosecution, the previously unconvicted defendant was made subject of a referral to a programme to address his behaviour.

Jonathan Walker, prosecuting, said it seemed to work as there was a break in contact for about a fortnight.

But by early May the messaging began again, with Khirfan sending her pictures of a wedding dress, telling her he loved her and wanted to hug her, leaving the woman feeling, “intense anxiety”.

She saw him outside her GP’s surgery when she attended for an appointment the following day and so she rang her partner to ask him to collect her.

Mr Walker said on leaving the surgery she received a number of messages asking her to meet Khirfan and was “alarmed” to learn he had entered their previous place of work.

That evening as she was walking home with her young son she saw the defendant nearby, leaving her unsettled as he knew where she lived, and he was later seen walking in front of her home.

But the next day the messages took a turn in direction as he told her she was being “stupid” and he no longer wanted contact with her.

Mr Walker said, “in slightly concerning tone”, Khirfan told her: “I don’t harm people for nothing”, adding she would lose him.

He sent her a further message saying he would make her a sandwich and later that day a friend of hers approached him urging his to stop making contact with the woman, at which he behaved, “slightly aggressively”, producing some form of darning instrument, thought to be knife-like.

It led to him being reported to police again and arrested, but he provided, “little assistance.”

The 38-year-old defendant, formerly of Cheapside, Spennymoor, has been in custody at Durham Prison for the last month, during which he admitted a charge of stalking, causing serious alarm or distress, at a previous court appearance.

Read more: Man jailed for intimidating course of behaviour against former partner

Emma Williams, for the defendant, said having worked with the complainant for some time he mistakenly thought a relationship was forming between them.

Miss Williams said after his arrest, following the initial complaint in April, he cut off contact until he was wrongly told, “by a third party”, that she was “upset” at the breakdown of the relationship.

“He tells me he stupidly and mistakenly believed this ‘third party’ and decided to contact her.

“HE now accepts she did not want this contact and it would have caused her unwanted alarm and distress.

“He tells me he’s very sorry and wants to apologise to the complainant.

“He moved from the area before his second arrest and now has not intention to have contact with her again.”

Judge Ray Singh told Khirfan: “What seems to be the case is that, for no apparent reason, you became besotted with the complainant, none of which was encouraged by her.

“You could have been left with no misunderstanding from April, with that warning from the police, that she wanted nothing more to do with you.

“Your behaviour has had a significant effect on her.

“She already suffered with anxiety and that has been exacerbated as a result of your behaviour.”

He imposed a ten-month prison sentence and made Khirfan subject of a ten-year restraining order prohibiting him from contacting or approaching his victim.

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