A 20-year-old man who targeted his former partner and her family with threats of acid and gunfire has been handed a 39-month prison sentence.
Jarom Lea, of Bastion Avenue, Prestatyn, appeared at Mold Crown Court on Tuesday, having admitted harassment with fear of violence against the woman between 1 January 2025 and 22 January 2026.
He will serve a third of the term, and a restraining order was imposed to protect her.
What the court heard
Prosecutor Patrick Gartland set out how, during the period of offending, Lea:
- sent the woman messages she did not want
- made five bank transactions of one penny each to her on 5 February 2025
- threatened in March 2025 to throw acid in her face
- went on to threaten to have her family shot
The house threat
Lea denied threatening to burn down the woman’s home, and the Crown accepted that denial. His barrister, Sarah Yates, also argued that his comment to another person that the house would “go up in flames” had not been made to the victim directly.
The Recorder, Neil Owen-Casey, made clear he believed the threat was real. He said: “The notion that you deny threatening to burn the complainant’s house down may have some traction were it not for the fact there was a message in the (court’s) case management system.
“It’s clear you did not send it directly to (the victim).. It’s clear you tried to get a message to her of what you wanted her to think you were capable of doing.”
In her own words
In a victim statement, the woman described how Lea would stand in front of her and shout to intimidate her while they were together. She said she had felt she was pleasing him, but she was no longer seeing her family.
“I almost lost my identity,” she said.
Once she brought the relationship to an end, the court heard, Lea became “more abusive and threatening”.
“He has destroyed part of my life. I don’t want to see him again,” she said.
“I used to be confident and outgoing. After the relationship I became very anxious. I stopped wanting to go out. I lost all confidence in myself.”
The defence
Ms Yates reminded the court that Lea was only 18 and 19 when he offended and is just 20 now. She said he had shown some remorse and responsibility, and was taking steps to deal with his anger management.
Sentencing remarks
The Recorder told Lea he had been unable to cope with rejection and had gone into a “complete, emotional tailspin”, aiming a “nasty” campaign of harassment at the woman and her family.
On the penny payments, he said: “The bank transactions for a penny at a time – it seems to me your intention was to cause as much intimidation and fear as possible.”
Describing Lea’s conduct, he added: “It reads like something out of a poor film script.”
The judge said that Lea contacting police to claim he had information for them was part of an effort “to control the narrative”.
He identified Lea’s immaturity as the key to the offending, with alcohol also playing a part, and concluded: “The court will not stand for this kind of behaviour between adults.”
