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A woman whose former coworker harassed, threatened and tried to break into her home has spoken of her ordeal “absolutely terrifying.”
Una Ring told RTÉ’s Claire Byrne Live how the man subjected her to a campaign of terror, which ended with him trying to break into her home and rape her.
James Steele, a 52-year-old salesman from West Cork, was sentenced last week to seven years in prison, with two suspended, after he was found guilty of one count of attempted robbery with intent to rape.
He also pleaded guilty to charges of harassment and criminal damage.
Recalling how his ordeal began, Ring said, “We were not friends, we were purely work colleagues.”
When Steele took a job elsewhere, he asked her to help him organize a conference. “We went to the conference room where we were supposed to get things ready and there was nothing,” Ms. Ring said.
“It was literally just a table. There were no chairs, no white boards and I was like ‘I’m in trouble here.
“So I turned around and said ‘what’s going on?’ and the next thing his arms were around me and he was trying to kiss me and I kept moving.
“All I could do was turn my head away because his arms were around my arms.
“I was just asking him to stop and I said ‘I don’t want this’ and he kept saying ‘You won’t know until you try’ and I kept begging him to stop.” In the end, he managed to push it away.
“When he mentioned my daughter, I panicked” – Una Ring
Claire Byrne Live listens to a Cork woman, Una Ring, describe her ordeal with a stalker. #CBLive pic.twitter.com/ts5XHEcLct
– Claire Byrne Live (@ClaireByrneLive) February 8, 2021
Ring said the next morning, he began bombarding her with text messages. She ignored them, unless they were related to work.
In April of last year, he told her: ‘Since I haven’t heard from you, I’m going to call your house.’
She “didn’t know” if he knew her address in Youghal. “I said, ‘Don’t call my house, don’t contact me again.’ He said well. “
His health began to deteriorate and he visited his GP in early June. “He was very, very uncomfortable. I was feeling pretty bad and anxious.
“Every time the phone rang, I wondered if it was him. Every knock on the door. They instilled fear in me, does he know where I live?”
A few days later, Ms. Ring went to the gardaí with a printed statement of what happened. “I just wanted there to be a record in case something happened to me or someone else.”
Then, in July, he woke up to paint the symbols of X (kisses) and O (hugs) and the words ‘I win’ on his windows. The following night, Steele left a letter on the windshield of his car.
Later, CCTV footage captured him on a separate visit, leaving another “terrifying and threatening” letter.
Ring said: “It was absolutely terrifying. The fact that I mentioned my daughter [in the letter] It took it to a whole different level. I was in a state of panic. “
He said the guards were “fantastic” and were watching the house. Four nights later, their stalker, armed with a crowbar, was caught on the property and arrested.
I heard muffled voices outside and the clang of the lever that he pulled in the driveway next door – Una Ring
Una Ring tells Claire that she was subjected to a chilling campaign of harassment by a man who tried to break into her home to rape her. #CBLive pic.twitter.com/XwScF5Scya
– Claire Byrne Live (@ClaireByrneLive) February 8, 2021
Ring said that even though Steele is behind bars, he won’t get over his ordeal quickly.
“I have to mentally convince myself that I am safe. I check the back of my car and the locks on my house.”
He urged the women to tell Gardaí if they were being harassed. “They will take care of you, they will protect you.”
She said of her local gardaí: “I owe them everything, they were very kind. They went above and beyond.”
The Dublin Rape Crisis Center thanked Una Ring for sharing her story. “It is very important to know that support is available. 24-hour helpline from RCC 1800 77 8888,” he said in a post on Twitter.
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