Domestic abuser stalked victim within hours of leaving jail

Early one morning, the woman, who had been subjected to domestic violence by Zack Bowes before he was jailed, woke to find him standing by her bed,  Emily Jenkins, prosecuting, said at York Crown Court.

The previous night, the woman had heard him banging on her front door and had alerted police.

Bowes was also spotted at her place of work. He vaulted a fence when he was spotted and despite a large-scale police search of the area was not caught.

In a personal statement the woman said she is now “living in survival mode”, constantly checking that her doors and windows are secure, fearing what  Bowes may do next and feeling very vulnerable.

Bowes, 29, of no fixed address, was sent back to jail for 32 months. He has several previous convictions for breaking court orders and has offences against other women.

He pleaded guilty to stalking causing serious distress between July 15 and August 6 and breach of the restraining order that bars him from going within 100 metres of the first woman’s home and place of work and from contacting her in any way.

Judge Simon Hickey extended the order until October 2039 and added a condition that Bowes does not refer to the woman in any social media post or get anyone else to refer to her.

Defence barrister Halima Kamran said Bowes had struggled with not being able to speak to his ex-partner following his release from prison and had been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Ms Jenkins said Bowes was released from a prison sentence for breaching the restraining order on July 14 and late that day, the woman saw what she believed to be him sitting as a front seat passenger in a car circling her area.

The next day she received a friend request from a similar SnapChat profile to one he had used in the past and on July 18, she was woken by banging on her front door. Her CCTV captured Bowes coming and going from her property more than once.

On July 24, he was at her place at work and on August 5, at 11pm, he was banging on her front door. 

The next morning at 7am she woke to find him at her bedside, having got into her house when her adult son let the dogs out. 

Bowes told her he had been waiting for hours in her back garden, and spent some time at the house trying to persuade her to renew their relationship. He appeared to have been drinking.

She was too frightened to call police, was deeply disturbed and no longer felt safe in her own home.  

Bowes now accepted the relationship was over, the court heard.