There is a verdict for harassing shop assistants. A court in Grójec (Mazowieckie) sentenced a 48-year-old man to eight months in prison suspended for three years, for coming to the shop several times a day. He pestered and brought flowers to women. When they rejected his advances, he became aggressive and threatened them.
As informed by Aneta Góźdź, spokeswoman for the District Prosecutor’s Office in Radom, the verdict in this case is final.
– Jarosław M. was sentenced for the acts he was charged with to a total sentence of eight months of imprisonment, the execution of which was suspended for a probation period of three years. During this time, the court placed the accused under the supervision of a probation officer – said the spokeswoman.
The 48-year-old is also banned from contacting the injured parties or approaching them at a distance of less than 100 metres for a period of two years.
A month and a half of harassment
In the fall of 2023, for almost a month and a half, Jarosław M. came to the Żabka store in Grójec several times a day. The saleswomen were fed up with the pushy customer. At one point, the situation became dangerous for them. The 48-year-old came to the store with a knife hidden up his sleeve and threatened the women.
The man was detained by the Grójec detectives and taken to the police station. He was charged with persistent harassment, violating privacy and making the victims feel threatened. At the request of the prosecutor, the court decided to temporarily arrest the suspect for three months.
Stalking is persistent harassment or persecution of the victim by calling at different times, making silent phone calls, sending letters or emails, intimidation. Stalkers often hang around the victim's home or workplace, try to establish contact through third parties, break into the homes or cars of the victims or buy them unwanted gifts.
The police emphasize that all such actions, in order to be considered a crime, must be carried out in a persistent manner, against the will and despite the strong opposition of the addressee. The condition for fulfilling the characteristics of the crime of stalking is that through harassment the perpetrator arouses in the victim a sense of threat justified by the circumstances.
According to the Penal Code, stalking is a crime punishable by imprisonment for up to 8 years, and in some cases – even up to 15 years.
In the case of persistent harassment, very often the only method of dealing with a stalker is to report the crime to the police. Officers advise victims to keep evidence of the crime committed against them, e.g. text messages, emails, letters, recordings.
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