'Vile' Leeds yob stalked charity worker - suggesting he was to blame for own sister's death

Vindictive Jonathan Horsfall even made false claims that the man had been involved in sexual activity in the presence of a child.

After targeting the man, Horsfall then switched his attention to his partner, accusing her of sleeping with other men and demanding photos to prove where she was.

Horsfall was jailed at Leeds Crown Court this week after he admitted two counts of stalking and one of criminal damage.

Prosecutor Carmel Pearson said that 30-year-old Horsfall started the relationship with the woman in April last year.

While it began well between the pair, he began to call her ex partner a wife beater and contacted him and his family to tell them.

He went onto the charity site run by the man to make the sick accusations that his sister had died because of him.

The victim had to block Horsfall and change his number, as well as his mother’s number after he contacted her also.

Ms Pearson said a lot of Horsfall’s behaviour was “fuelled by drink and drugs” and he became paranoid about his partner.

He was “constantly” trying to check her phone to find out with whom she was talking. He smashed her phone and on one occasion he smashed a window.

The court heard that Horsfall, of Moor Road, Beeston, has previous convictions. In 2022 when he received an eight-month sentence, suspended for two years, for threatening to disclose private photos of a woman.

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Mitigating, Andrea Parnham said: “He recognises his cocaine use is problematic and leads to behaviour that he is not proud of.”

She said that since being held on remand in HMP Leeds, he had abstained from drugs and made him realise how “reliant” he had become.

She said he was a hard worker and had the same job for 10 years. She added: “When he is not distracted by alcohol or cocaine, he can make a positive contribution to society.”

Judge Harry Crowson gave him a two-year jail sentence, and activated two months of his previous suspended sentence to run consecutively.

He also gave him a five-year restraining order to keep him away from the man and his ex partner.