A stalker who put a tracker on his ex-partner’s car and hid in a bush outside her mum’s home has pleaded guilty on the first day of his trial. Jack Martin, 32, of Pontefract Road in Bromley, hung his head in shame as he slumped in the dock after admitting stalking causing serious alarm and distress, and harassment without violence, at Croydon Magistrates Court on Thursday (May 15).
Prosecutor Mohammed Rana told the court how Mr Martin’s disturbing behaviour began after the end of his seven-year relationship with Lauren Fox, the mother of his child. Over the course of their relationship, police were called to domestic incidents seven times, with Ms Fox the complainant on each occasion, the court was told.
After police accidentally revealed the exact location of Ms Fox’s new address in bail conditions provided to Mr Martin, he attended her address on November 9, 2024, and got into a ‘wrestling’ altercation with Ms Fox as he tried to enter her car, said Mr Rana. Mr Martin then tried to get Ms Fox’s phone and snatched her car keys from her friend. These were later posted back to her address.
On November 15, a safeguarding team attended Ms Fox’s address, believing Mr Martin could be in the area. She said he had left. But when officers looked around the home, they found Mr Martin hiding behind a door. Mr Martin claimed Ms Fox had been contacting him, the court was told.
On another occasion, Ms Fox told police she had been at her mum’s address when she saw Mr Martin hiding in a bush by her house. Mr Martin then began calling Ms Fox’s mum to ask why he had seen her with another male, and sent multiple texts calling Ms Fox a ‘slag’ and a ‘c**t’, the court heard.
At one point, Ms Fox became suspicious that Mr Martin had put a tracker on her car to follow her. As police were on their way, Mr Martin was spotted on a doorbell camera outside her front door, asking, ‘Why are you hiding?’. When police arrived, they found a ‘small black box’ tied with a cable on a pipe underneath her car.
‘This is the worst it has been’
In a victim impact statement, Ms Fox said the incident has left her ‘scared’ and fearing ‘repercussions’ from him and his family. “I’m scared the abuse may continue from [Mr Martin’s mother] and Jack, whenever he is released from custody,” she said, adding: “We have been struggling with co-parenting for a while, but this is the worst it has been.”
Mr Martin’s lawyer described the case as a ‘battle over visitation rights’, adding that the use of a tracker ‘screamed mental health’. “I’m afraid Mr Martin took the law into his own hands,” the lawyer added, prompting the chairwoman to point out Mr Martin’s behaviour will not help his case in the family court.
Mr Martin, who is lightly cautioned, has since been diagnosed with ADHD, anxiety, and depression, and is waiting for the results of a test for Bipolar Disorder, the court heard. Magistrates ordered a pre-sentence report, while retaining strict bail conditions not to enter SE20 or Ashford in Kent, make any form of contact with Ms Fox, or arrange child visits without a third party.
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