A NORTH Belfast community worker was handed a 14-month sentence yesterday after an appeal against a conviction for harassing a woman was rejected.
Sentencing Fernando Murphy, from Balholm Drive, Judge David McFarland: "You seem to have an obsession with this lady and this has to stop. The longer it goes on, the longer the prison sentences you will receive."
Murphy will spend seven months behind bars with the rest of supervised licence on his release.
Last year, the 42-year old was convicted in his absence of ten charges reflecting a course of conduct between December 2017 and August 2018.
The offences included multiple charges of harassment, breaching a restraining order and sending menacing messages by a public electronic communications network.
After being found guilty of the charges at Belfast Magistrates Court, Murphy appealed his seven month jail sentence.
The appeal was opened in the County Court earlier this week.
Judge David McFarland was shown Twitter messages written both to and about the complainant, a WhatsApp message, and CCRV footage which showed a confrontation between the two in the centre of Belfast on August 29, 2018.
Crown barrister Lauren Cheshire said the Twitter messages were sent from fake accounts created by Murphy, and that links to these accounts were located on a laptop seized from Murphy's home.
When he was called to give evidence, Murphy accepted he had set the laptop up but said that up to 50 people had access to it.
He also denied creating fake Twitter accounts and tweeting about the complainant.
Upholding these convictions however, Judge McFarland said that while he accepted others had access to the laptop, "in my view he (Murphy) was the main user of the laptop and he controlled the usage."
Judge McFarland upheld the convictions of nine charges, but acquitted Murphy on a charge of harassment between January 10 and January 17, 2018.
Defence barrister Turlough Madden said "quite clearly there are underlying mental health difficulties with Mr Murphy" and urged Judge McFarland to impose either a probation or a suspended sentence.
The judge however said Murphy had shown "no remorse" for matters he branded as "serious", and that when he had been given a suspended sentence in the past, a "very short time after that, he re-offended."