A 33-YEAR-OLD man from Penarth with several previous convictions for sex offences has been jailed for two years after subjecting a Cardiff city centre shop assistant to a three-week stalking ordeal.
The trial at Cardiff Crown Court heard how Mark Maxwell, of Mountjoy Crescent, made a number of unwanted approaches to the woman during June 2023, in which he harassed her with personal questions, including whether she had a boyfriend or husband, whether she was on the pill and if she was any good at oral sex. He also knew where she lived and correctly stated the area of Cardiff.
Several days later, the woman was listening to music on her headphones while walking in Church Street when Maxwell spotted her. In her statement, she said: “I noticed he had turned around, looked at me, and started to walk in the same direction.
“It was clearly an intentional act as he turned round and made a bee line for me. When we were side by side he grabbed my right arm and squeezed with some force as if he was urgently trying to get my attention.”
The victim kept her headphones in and ran away, but four days later she saw Maxwell again on her way to work and he said: “Hello stranger.”
The following day, she received a text from a colleague who told her Maxwell had entered the store and had asked for her.
In the last incident, the woman was working in the shop when Maxwell approached her and said: “Hello stranger. I’ll see you soon.” The victim called 999 and Maxwell was arrested.
During his interview with police, Maxwell admitted making sexual comments on one occasion and saying “hello” on another but denied stalking. At his initial court hearing, Maxwell was remanded in custody while he awaited trial.
In her statement, the victim said: “This incident has really knocked my confidence. It struck a nerve with my anxiety and has made going out into public really hard.
“I took time off work which has affected me financially. It has made me so wary of strangers and being on my own and out of the house. I feel I have to change my job and a large number of aspects of my life due to him. He has changed my life and that of my family.”
Maxwell has previous convictions for sex offences. In 2008, he was sentenced to 18 months in prison for two sexual assaults and two further attempted sexual assaults.
In 2013, Maxwell was sentenced to 18 months in prison after breaching a sexual harm prevention order four times.
Maxwell’s most recent conviction came in 2017, when he was sentenced to four years in prison for two sexual assaults.
Representing Maxwell, barrister Ross McQuillan-Johnson said a psychiatric report had been prepared on the recommendation of the probation service, but he told the court: “It’s not a helpful report for the court or for the defence so the defence has decided not to rely upon it.”
Judge Paul Hopkins KC said this was ‘unusual’ but he acknowledged the barrister had the right to take this approach.
Maxwell was found guilty of stalking and breaching a sexual harm prevention order, but the judge instigated a court-ordered psychiatric report, which led to a delay of more than three months before Maxwell was sentenced.
At the sentencing hearing, Judge Hopkins said that the psychiatric report made references to Maxwell having “fixated behaviour” but that there were “question marks” as to whether his mental difficulties had led to his criminal actions.
Mr McQuillan-Johnson told the court his client had a diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and had been “bumped between different practitioners” in attempting to get an autism diagnosis.
Mr McQuillan-Johnson said Maxwell had “clear difficulties” with social interaction and could not “interpret verbal and non-verbal clues.” He said: “It does appear that Mr Maxwell had an inability to form real adult relationships, which appears to have caused a significant level of frustration.
“He has been remanded in custody since June and is studying maths and working in the servery. It’s the first time he has been in employment because, within a custodial setting, he has the structure and support to complete such employment – something he has always wanted to do and wishes to do when he is released.”
Judge Hopkins was concerned by how Maxwell had “randomly selected” a member of the public to stalk but said the threshold for classing him as a ‘dangerous offender’, which would warrant an extended sentence, had not been met.
The judge sentenced Maxwell to a 24-month jail term, half of which will be served in custody, along with a restraining order to protect the victim. Maxwell was also ordered to pay a £187 victim services surcharge.
Passing sentence, Judge Hopkins told Maxwell his “utterly inappropriate” behaviour had caused “very serious harm” to the victim and that there was “little suggestion of any remorse on your part or any empathy for your victim”. He took into account Maxwell’s mental health issues but described him as posing “a high degree of risk to women in the community”.
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