A man who harassed a woman for almost a month and threatened to disclose a sexual photograph of her has been jailed. 

Darren Barker, of Gull Road, Guyhirn began harassing his victim on June 9 last year and continued until June 23. 

On several occasions, Barker turned up at the woman’s house and threatened to release a sexual photograph of her. 

Then on June 28, he bombarded the woman with eight emails, sent her a Facebook message and visited her house twice. 

On one of those occasions, the 46-year-old man shouted through her letterbox and asked her to marry him. 

Barker sent another email to the woman the following day, and more the day after. 

The woman was then followed by Barker in his van on June 30 and damaged her wing mirror while trying to get her to stop. 

Barker sent a further two emails the next day; one asking her to meet him or it would be “bad news”. 

He followed the woman into her car again, forced her to stop and stole her phone. 

After being arrested, Barker declined to comment in police interview to questions about criminal damage and contacting the woman on July 1. 

But in a separate interview, he admitted the offences. 

At Cambridge Crown Court on January 31, Barker was sentenced to two years and seven months in prison. 

The sentence was for offences including threatening to disclose private sexual photographs, theft, criminal damage and nine breaches of a non-molestation order. 

Barker had 12 weeks added to his sentence for breaching a suspended sentence due to committing the offences. 

He was also handed a 10-year restraining order, preventing him from contacting the victim. 

DC Amanda Pickering said: “The level of harm caused by sharing private sexual photographs should not be underestimated, especially if they are shared by someone you know or trust. 

“While this is a rare charge, it is very serious, and I hope this case highlights how severely the courts and police take offences of this nature. 

“Stalking can be a terrifying experience and leave victims feeling isolated and frightened.” 

DC Pickering added: “Barker’s stalking and harassment spanned a longer period than just this offending, and I hope the sentence imposed now gives the victim some level of closure. 

“We would encourage anyone who fears they may be being stalked or harassed to get in touch.” 

For more information on support on stalking and harassment, visit Cambridgeshire Police’s website at: https://bit.ly/3YdLbfn.