Stalker left Northampton casino worker feeling ‘helpless’ after refusing to take no for an answer

A man began stalking a casino worker after he claimed the pair had a ‘connection’, despite the fact she repeatedly told him to leave her alone.
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Northampton Crown Court heard on Friday (August 2) how Peter Bogdan of Croyde Avenue, Corby, approached his victim as she smoked a cigarette outside the casino in Northampton at the beginning of April and told her he was ‘addicted to sex, drugs and gambling.’

She gave the defendant short-shrift and went back into work.

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But then she saw the defendant in Northampton town centre and he told her he remembered her.

The day after he appeared at her work again and made a nuisance of himself so was asked to leave.

Prosecuting, Victoria Rose said: “She’d made it clear she didn’t want to talk to him and he had to be told several times by other people to leave.

“The victim began to become increasingly alarmed by his behaviour.”

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But Bogdan, 31, returned again to the casino several times within a two-week period, telling his victim he liked her, that they had a connection and that he would ‘not take no for an answer’.

The victim had to get friends to collect her from work because she was scared of him following her.

She eventually told him she was married but this didn’t deter him and the victim reported the incidents to her managers and then to the police.

He was barred from the venue but returned again and managers had to lock the doors to keep him out.

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Miss Rose added that the defendant was so concerned that she was shaking. He had told others that he wanted to ‘rape her’ and that she was ‘his’.

Police arrested Bogdan and took him into custody but he made violently sexual comments to the custody volunteer.

He was charged with one offence of stalking and another public order offence with respect to the comment made to the volunteer.

In a victim impact statement read in court by Miss Rose, the victim said that she had felt extremely frightened by Bogdan’s behaviour.

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She added: “She felt panicky and incredibly intimidated once he knew she’d phoned the police.

“She was concerned about the consequences.

“Having to get lifts to work made her feel extremely helpless.”

She had also become cautious about talking to male customers and worried about walking around town alone.

“She was constantly looking over her shoulder.”

Mitigating, William Heywood said that his client had accepted that his conduct was wrong.

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His Honour Judge Michael Fowler said that Bogdan had already served four months on remand and sentencing guidelines meant that a further term in prison would only be short, and would not protect the public because it would only delay any further offending.

He said: “I am concerned this is a dangerous man.

“As things stand I don’t have the power to enable me to protect the public in any formal way from his potential behaviour.

“To simply impose a custodial sentence with him being released on licence shortly would achieve nothing.”

The judge made a community order with a thirty day rehabilitation requirement, adding: “That is going to require intensive assistance to try and prevent him committing another similar offence in the future.

“I hope that no-one else is going to suffer at his hands.”

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A strict restraining order was imposed that prevents the defendant from contacting the victim or going within 100m of her or the casino.

He is also not allowed to make any sexual remarks to any woman that he doesn’t already know.