Man who left ex-wife living in fear sentenced

A man who tormented his ex-wife with abuse and left her living in daily fear has been given a suspended prison sentence.

Scott Seldon, 38, plagued the woman with insulting messages and threats, saying he would kill her family and burn her house down, Newcastle Crown Court heard.

The woman, who had been with Seldon for 18 years, said it had been "like a living nightmare come real" and she genuinely feared for her and her family's safety.

Seldon, of Muirfield Drive in Usworth, Washington, admitted harassment causing fear of violence and was jailed for 18 months, suspended for 22 months, with 200 hours unpaid work.

The couple got together in 2004 and married in 2012, but broke up in January 2022 after allegations Seldon was having an affair, prosecutor Neil Pallister said.

The woman said the relationship had been good but began to change in 2017 when Seldon became more controlling, isolating her from her family and closely monitoring her movements, the court heard.

Over the course of four months in 2022, he deluged the woman with text messages, voice notes and videos in which he made multiple threats, Mr Pallister said.

They included claims he would burn her house down, slit her throat, "chop" anyone she was dating and kill her family, the court heard.

He also told her not to contact the police about the abuse, Mr Pallister said.

"Those made her feel terrified and she believed them to be genuine threats," Mr Pallister said.

In a statement read to the court, the woman said Seldon had caused her and her family to live in fear for years and they had installed cameras and locked letter boxes at their homes.

She said she moved house to try and get away from him, but he found out where she lived and the abuse continued. She was afraid to be in her home, she said, and was constantly worrying and scanning when out.

"It's like a living nightmare come real," the woman said, adding she "just wanted a normal life" and to not live "constantly in fear and worrying what will come next".

In mitigation, the court heard Seldon, who works as a joiner, accepted his behaviour had been "appalling" and "deeply unpleasant".

Recorder Carolyn Scott said it was a "campaign of harassment" and Seldon was "absolutely out of order" and "utterly unacceptable".

But, the judge said, Seldon had been deemed a "low risk" of reoffending, there was a prospect of rehabilitation and immediate imprisonment would lose him his job.

A restraining order banning Seldon from contacting his ex-wife for five years was also made, breach of which could see him jailed for up to five years.

Seldon was also ordered to pay £1,000 in court costs.

Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].