A police 999 emergency call centre boss, who claimed singer Ronan Keating was his cousin, sent fake messages from the star to a married female colleague he became infatuated with, a court heard.
Court Out: Wayne O'Sullivan
Wayne O’Sullivan, 46, a supervisor at Met Command and Control, also dramatically smashed an “elaborate” Easter egg he bought for the woman into the office bin when she rejected the gift.
He also gave her the pet name ‘Brunchie’ in WhatsApp messages and gave her a note in the emergency call centre addressed to ‘Miss FussyKnickers,’ Croydon Magistrates’ Court was told.
Married O’Sullivan, of Watson Way, Stanstead was convicted of harassing Samantha Davis between June 4 and June 7, last year and will be sentenced on October 23.
She told the trial she has worked at the Metropolitan Police’s Lambeth centre for 17 years and O’Sullivan was her supervisor.
They were platonic friends, but married O’Sullivan began giving her unwanted gifts such as expensive Jimmy Choo perfume, called ‘I Want Choo.’
He also bought her hair care products and Italian liqueur Disaronno.
“He was up and down, like Jekyll and Hyde and was putting a lot of his worries on me,” Mrs Davis told the court from behind a screen.
“He would get angry if I did not reply to his messages straight away and it got too much. I felt like I was being watched.”
On March 27, last year she received a ‘goodie bag’ from O’Sullivan, including a signed picture of rock group Queen; an autographed photo of Ronan Keating; chocolate and hair care products.
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| "Embarrassed and Mortified": Samantha Davis |
“He was not happy and did not think it was normal behaviour. It was all unwanted attention and constant text messages and I found the Jimmy Choo perfume quite creepy.
“He was intimidating me and liked to play the victim and make me look wrong all the time and that I was not grateful.”
During the complainant’s period of sick leave O’Sullivan also deposited £2,000 and then two payments of £1,000 into her bank account, which she returned.
“He said: ‘I want to help you.’ He did not realise the dread I was feeling.”
On March 30, last year O’Sullivan placed an Easter egg on her desk in full view of work colleagues, attaching a note, which read: ‘This is your Easter egg. I’ve had it for four weeks. Fell free to put it in the bin or give it away.’
“It was quite a big, elaborate Easter egg. I was embarrassed and mortified,” said Mrs Davis, who returned the gift to the defendant’s desk.
She also added a note, which read: ‘I can’t believe you left this on my desk with this note for everyone to see. I’ve told you how much trouble your gifts give me. No more presents. Stop.’
“He stormed across the room and launched the egg into the empty bin with such force the partition shook and the noise caused me and my colleagues to jump. It was quite scary and he had a red, angry face.”
She blocked O’Sullivan on WhatsApp, but not before telling him he was “narcissist” and “controlling”.
“I sent him that message, telling him what I thought of him.
“It was awful, unbearable to be at the office. He would face in the direction I sat and watch me with this red, angry face all the time.
“It was horrible. I did not feel safe going to work. I was afraid to go down to the car park to my car in case he was there.”
While busy despatching police to emergency calls Mrs Davis felt O’Sullivan’s presence near her desk as he gave her a birthday note, addressing her as ‘Miss FussyKnickers’.
“What was a few minutes felt like a lifetime as he stood in front of me while I was working.”
The defendant followed up with more unwanted phone texts like: “It hurts so much. Why don’t you care about me anymore? It’s a living hell, you must have noticed the weight I lost and I feel like jumping in front of a bus.”
A bogus message purportedly from Ronan Keating asked the victim to have sympathy for O’Sullivan. “He sits on his own in his car at the scene of his daughter’s death.”
Things took a more sinister turn when O’Sullivan posed as the female partner of a former control centre employee, Luke, accusing the victim of an affair with her one time colleague.
One message read: “Stop contacting my Luke, you bitch,” and another: “Block him and stop contacting him or I will destroy your marriage.”
O’Sullivan included the correct phone number of Mrs Davis’ husband in some of the messages.
The victim was ordered to comply or face consequences. “This way everyone keeps their partners and it won’t get messy.”
“I thought it was Wayne straight away. In his phone text messages he puts a full stop after a question mark and that is incorrect grammar,” said Mrs Davis.
“In the Ronan Keating one’s the same grammatical error is there with the question mark.”
Police also exposed that even though O’Sullivan switched SIM cards, the harassing messages came from his phone.
He claimed a woman called ‘Chloe’, who he enjoyed a brief affair with, sent the messages when she borrowed his phone to play an installed game.
O’Sullivan told the trial he was under tremendous mental strain at the time as he was suspended and subject to a nine-month disciplinary investigation over his handling of a missing person report that ended in tragedy.
“I dismissed the missing person report and later the person was found dead in their flat,” he told the trial. “I had a breakdown of sorts and lost three stone in weight.
“I was suspended, distraught. I needed medical help, but was too embarrassed to ask for help.”
During his suspension O’Sullivan was still expected to complete his hours in the office, where he spent most of his time on his iPad.
Regarding Mrs Davis he said: “We became very close friends emotionally. She has cried down the phone to me twice and told me of her troubles and I told her mine.”
On the birthday note he explained: “I was trying to make things up and apologise and say I really cared for her as a friend.
“Because I was suspended I was left to sit in a chair for twelve hours with northing to do.”
He admitted sending the Ronan Keating texts. “That was me crying for help again.”
O’Sullivan insisted Chloe, who he has lost contact with, was responsible for the more sinister messages. “That is her trying to copy my style of writing.
“I did not send those messages, I don’t understand that style. I do not message in that style as I am dyslexic and I don’t understand it.”
When Mrs Davis reported O’Sullivan he was arrested at 4.00am and spent fifteen hours in a police cell.
Prosecutor Paul Douglas put to him: “You decided you were going to do everything you could to ruin her marriage didn’t you? By the beginning of March you had already began planning how to ruin her marriage.
“You decided to take revenge on her didn’t you? You wanted to cause her really serious distress in the office with the messages you sent.”
O’Sullivan continued denying the charge. “I didn’t do those one’s. It wasn’t me.”
However, District Judge Polly Gledhill rejected his evidence and bailed O’Sullivan for a pre-sentence report.
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