The woman who was being stalked asked her male co-worker to stop messaging her several times. The man promised to do so, but still continued to communicate.
A man from Kauvola, who was infatuated with his colleague, made her working days oppressive. Despite the woman’s requests, the man did not stop bombarding her with messages. Above all, that person also told other companions about the situation.
The Kymenlaakso district court has sentenced a 37-year-old man to a fine of 960 euros for stalking, which has now become law.
A woman from Kauvola told the district court that she had previously been friends with a 37-year-old man outside of work. Further contact was initiated in 2020. Since then the lady wanted them to no longer be involved in anything other than work matters. However, the man continued to flood the messages.
According to the woman, messages used to come daily. Most of the communication took place through the Teams application, and in addition, the person paid via e-mail. The woman was able to block the man’s communications in other media, but not in the workplace Teams application and e-mail.
The woman found the message oppressive. She told the man to stop texting for two weeks, but then the bombings started again. The woman found it particularly embarrassing that the man was also sabotaging the relationship in messages sent to other partners.
The situation weighed on the woman, but she was never out of work because of the man. The woman was helped by the fact that she was able to work remotely, so she didn’t have to meet the man at work.
The 37-year-old man admitted in the court that he has been in love with the woman for a long time. The man felt that he had received a response from the woman in the summer of 2020. In the summer of 2021, he first tried to convince the woman that he was a good man for her. Finally, the man asked the woman to spare at least ten minutes for a conversation. The man, who found the situation hopeless, quit his job at the end of the summer. He said he also found the speeches of other co-workers in the workplace burdensome.
District Attorney Jessica James sought that the man be punished for the stalking over the course of six months in 2021-2022. The prosecutor presented 130 pages of communications between the man and the woman as written evidence.
The court drew attention to the fact that the woman asked the man several times to stop sending the messages and the man promised to do so, but still continued the communication. In messages sent to other colleagues, the court said it appeared to be a question of laying down the rules of the game in the workplace concerning the status of the 37-year-old man and woman.
In the opinion of the court, because of the number, tone, frequency and negligence of the man, among other things, the messages were capable of causing fear and anxiety to the woman. The district court sentenced the man to a 40-day fine for stalking, which, depending on his income, amounts to a fine of 960 euros.
The man appealed the sentence to the Court of Appeal of Eastern Finland, which denied him permission for further proceedings. The decision of the Kymenlaakso District Court remains permanent.
