Hove Woman, 47, Found Guilty of Stalking and Harassment After Four-Day Brighton Trial, Sussex News Reports

CrimeHoveBrighton and HoveBrighton News
Written By Tim Graichi Cucarella

The Law Courts on Edward Street, Brighton, in a photo from 2006 (Photo: Simon Carey, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Geograph)

A 47-year-old woman from Hove has been found guilty of stalking and harassment of a number of victims after a four-day trial at Brighton Magistrates’ Court, according to Sussex News, which reported the verdict on 14 October.

Sussex News names her as Anne-Marie Hughes. It says she denied the allegations, claiming she was the victim of “gang-stalking”, and that she is due back in court on 18 December.

47
her age, as reported
4 days
length of the trial
14 Oct
verdict reported
18 Dec
next court date

Credit: this verdict was reported by Sussex News. The details below are from their report, with the court listings added by ImJustBrighton.

What Sussex News reports

Sussex News says Hughes was found guilty of stalking and harassment of a number of victims. It describes the charges as involving allegations of repeated unwanted contact. According to the report, Hughes denied the allegations and claimed she was the victim of “gang-stalking”.

The next date it gives is 18 December, when Hughes is due back in court.

What the court listings show

The public court lists, which are published by HMCTS and collected on Open Court Data, show a trial listed at Brighton Magistrates’ Court on 14 October at 10am in Courtroom 06, before District Judge Murray, for a defendant named Anne-Marie Hughes. The listings name the offences as stalking without fear, alarm or distress, and harassment without violence.

Court lists record what is scheduled to be heard, not what is decided, so the finding of guilt comes from the Sussex News report.

Where the trial was held

The Law Courts on Edward Street in Brighton, a grey stone and concrete building with a lamp post in front under a blue sky
The Law Courts on Edward Street, Brighton, in a photo from 2006 (Photo: Simon Carey, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Geograph)

Brighton Magistrates’ Court is at The Law Courts, Edward Street, Brighton, BN2 0LG. The government’s court finder says it hears crime cases and single justice procedure cases.

The public court lists place the trial in Courtroom 06. Sussex News says it lasted four days and ended with the verdict on 14 October.

The Law Courts, Edward Street, Brighton (Map: Google Maps)

What stalking and harassment mean in law

Both offences come from the Protection from Harassment Act 1997. The Crown Prosecution Service says the guidance on stalking and harassment treats stalking as a pattern of behaviour that is fixated, obsessive, unwanted and repeated.

A course of conduct
The CPS says the conduct must involve two or more occasions, and that harassment includes alarming a person or causing them distress.
Stalking behaviours
The law lists examples that can be associated with stalking, including following a person, contacting or trying to contact them, publishing material about them, monitoring their online activity, loitering, interfering with their property and watching or spying on them. The list is on legislation.gov.uk.
Where it is tried
The CPS says the basic harassment offence (section 2) and the basic stalking offence (section 2A) are summary-only, which means they are heard in a magistrates’ court.
Maximum penalty
On summary conviction, the current text of section 2A sets a maximum of 51 weeks in prison, a fine up to level 5, or both.

The court listings use the wording “stalking without fear, alarm or distress” and “harassment without violence”.

If you are affected by stalking

The Suzy Lamplugh Trust runs the National Stalking Helpline, which it describes as a free service offering advice for victims of stalking. In an emergency, call 999.

What happens next

Hughes is due back before the court on 18 December, according to Sussex News. We will update this article when Sussex Police, the Crown Prosecution Service or the court confirm the outcome and any sentence. More from Crime, Hove and Brighton and Hove is on ImJustBrighton.

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