Aaron Whitman

A convicted sex offender from West Bergholt, Essex, appeared at Chelmsford Crown Court after harassing a woman who rejected his romantic advances. Aaron Whitman, aged 34, contacted the victim relentlessly for nearly two months following their meeting in Colchester city centre on 23 February.

The harassment began after the woman returned home from the meeting, where Whitman had introduced himself under a false name on WhatsApp. Despite her explicit requests to cease contact, Whitman persisted with increasingly intense messages and calls. Prosecutor Sophia Stapleton told the court that Whitman called the victim up to 100 times a day, often in the early hours using no caller ID, causing significant distress.

Whitman, a garage worker residing on Pirie Road in West Bergholt, had been subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order since September 2020, which prohibited him from using dating platforms such as Secret Benefits, where he had been introduced to the woman via an intermediary. This breach formed part of his admitted charges of breaching the order and harassment, which continued until April. Whitman has four prior convictions for six offences, underscoring his history as a sex offender.

In mitigation, Steven Levy referenced a pre-sentence report suggesting that Whitman would benefit from structured intervention rather than immediate custody, given his previous failed prison sentences. Recorder Alexander Mills acknowledged the severity of the offence, noting the 'significant' number of messages and their impact on the victim. He imposed a one-year-and-two-week prison sentence, suspended for two years, alongside 240 hours of unpaid work, rehabilitation activities, and programme requirements. A five-year restraining order was also issued to prevent further contact with the victim.

Mills emphasised the opportunity for change, stating, 'This gives you an opportunity to change, to move on and not get stuck in the same cycle that you have been to date.' He added that the public would not wish to see Whitman return to court, highlighting the rehabilitative focus of the sentence. The case was reported by senior crime and court reporter Lewis Adams for the Gazette and Herald, drawing on court proceedings at Chelmsford Crown Court.