A businesswoman tapped the father of her son’s car, redirected his mail and defamed him by calling him a scammer in an effort to get more child support, a court heard.
During a DIY reconnaissance mission, Veronica Jackson secretly placed a Safe Tag tracker in the vehicle of unemployed Kevin McCormack and diverted his letters to a drop-off location, in an effort to inform the child aid company that she had an assignment and could only interview £200 a month. He claimed he could only donate £6. 25 a week to help with the maintenance of the couple’s 12-year-old daughter.
He won a series of messages from Jackson showing the routes he had taken to and from his home, travel schedules, as well as messages from her saying, “I know where you are, I know what you’re doing. “The text messages say, “I have enough evidence that you’re dealing with fraud to gain advantage. So we can work it out between us or I’ll go through the official route, will you contact Kevin?I need you to pay for our daughter as you do. ” you do. He has made a very serious mistake in recent months.
During his campaign, Mr. Jackson discovered that Mr. McCormack was about to lose his rented apartment when the personal letters he sent him through his landlord were embezzled. He was eventually assigned a task as a nightclub bouncer, but she anonymously called his new employer to ask for confidential information about him and falsely claim that police were investigating him for fraud.
Jackson, from Henbury, Cheshire, who runs a hair extension company, eventually came forward to police after McCormack contacted the Royal Mail to ask why he hadn’t won any letters and given him a forwarding address. He asked around at home and was surprised to locate Jackson’s. car parked in the driveway. When police arrested her, they discovered a mail bag in her home containing letters addressed to her that had been opened.
At Warrington Magistrates’ Court, Jackson was found guilty of criminal harassment and withholding mail after a trial and faces up to six months in prison under sentencing guidelines. She pleaded guilty to mail theft and will be sentenced later this month.
The court heard that the couple began dating in 2010 and had a daughter together in 2012, but they separated 8 years later. McCormack said at the hearing, “I had made some donations to the Child Support Agency and on several occasions we agreed on an amount and they said, ‘yes, that sounds like a smart amount. But the amount that Veronica asked for I couldn’t allow it and I told her that and she came to a dead end. One morning, I saw a friend in Bolton and Veronica messaged me with a picture of my car and a picture of some kind of app.
“There was the moment I was leaving, the direction I was going, where I was going, and she was accusing me of running, of not paying enough and all kinds of things with that. I wasn’t running at the time. She said things like, “I know where you are, I know what you’re doing, being reported for fraud. “I felt scared and nervous and felt like I was being bullied. Obviously, with the follow-up, it made me nervous. I didn’t know what to do.
McCormack, who has another daughter, added: “I told Veronica that the CSA would take care of it and that she would leave me alone. I said, ‘We can fix this, stop them from harassing me. Stop harassing me and making my life something that I can’t go through anywhere. ‘ . . . Leave me alone. Let’s get on with our lives. Let’s make things right for our daughter. But she continued to text me.
“At the time, I was renting an apartment and I got a message from the landlord saying he was promoting it. Then I got a message from Veronica saying, ‘Haha, I’m so sorry to see you homeless. You deserve this. are expelled I wondered, “How does this know?”and I even went so far as to call the real estate agent and ask, “Is there anyone in your workplace who is leaking information?”It blew my mind that she knew this information. Only the owner and the real estate agent who took care of it knew.
“I didn’t get any mail for about two or three weeks and it felt a little strange, so I went to the post office and asked and they told me that my mail had been redirected to that address. I went to Veronica’s address and the car on the way. That is why she was aware of non-public affairs. Whatever mail was sent, he clearly discovered it. He made me sick, made me vulnerable and scared me because he sent me threatening messages.
In his testimony, Jackson testified that Mr. McCormack had worked as a site administrator while claiming benefits, adding, “In a phone call I had with the CSA, they asked me if I could locate where I worked and I said, ‘Go away. ‘He said he receives benefits, but we are collecting data on his work, which would have increased bills from £6. 25 a week to £50 a week, which is what I asked for.
“I called the CSA. He had main points about where he worked. They asked me if I could have a bank or a pay stub to know I was working. So I redirected his mail. There was no contact with Kevin, he didn’t talk to me, and he kept hanging up the phone at the CSA. He ignored all the CSA cards. I was looking for him to pay for my daughter. I am a single mother with a 12-year-old son with no children. Without payment from his father, he didn’t know how to go any other way.
Prosecutor Vincent Yip said: “There is simply no excuse for doing what she did. I was afraid. I didn’t know what was going to happen. Track someone, their location, redirect their message without permission, call their workplace, by conducting investigations. A moderated user would find that it is harassment and that it is unmoderated in all circumstances.
But defense attorney Lionel Greig said, “She seeks to show that he is running and that she and her daughter were entitled to appropriate and well-calculated benefits. You can get legal advice, but there is a detail of the accusation and this is vital in a “There is the option of using a personal detective, but it is also expensive: the defendant simply did not have the means. She is only looking to prove that he was running and that he had everyday money jobs for his daughter. “
In sentencing Jackson, Justice of the Peace Robin Bradshaw told him: “You admitted to installing the tracker, redirecting and opening mail and communicating with your workplace. While we are sympathetic to the scenario in which he finds himself, we reject that his conduct was moderate under the circumstances, as other evidence is very compelling. He knew that his conduct would amount to harassment.
Get email updates with the most important things of the day