A man who stalked a former Miss Dorset by sending numerous Facebook messages, tried to forcibly kiss her and turned up at her work uninvited has been jailed.
Jonathan Jay Deal, 39 and of Manor Road in Bournemouth, was sentenced at Poole Magistrates’ Court today, Monday 18 February 2019, after pleading guilty to stalking Samantha Bumford between 31 August 2018 and 10 September 2018.
He was sentenced to a six-month jail term. Deal was also issued with an indefinite restraining order. The terms of this order state that deal must not contact Samantha Bumford directly or indirectly or like, comment or share anything on social media in relation to her. He is also banned from contacting a witness in the case directly or indirectly.
Miss Bumford, 25, competes in Miss England events and uses social media to increase her profile with the intention of receiving more votes.
On Friday 22 June 2018 Deal sent Miss Bumford a Facebook friend request, which she accepted. Between that date and Monday 16 July 2018 Deal responded and reacted to her photos, storyline and advertisements by way of supportive emojis.
Deal attended numerous public events where multiple people were invited by the victim, however he appeared to seek out further personal contact with Miss Bumford.
In August 2018 Miss Bumford sent a request to around 200 of her Facebook followers asking for them to comment on an advert for Miss England to support her campaign to win. Deal responded by asking if he could attend to watch her win. Miss Bumford agreed. On Wednesday 29 August 2018 Deal attended the event in Bournemouth and posted a live blog on Facebook stating he was there and in love with Miss Bumford. She was not aware of this and later spoke to Deal, believing he was a fan.
Deal’s behaviour escalated and he made attempts to get into an exclusive tent the victim was in for the Bournemouth Air festival, would wait for hours to speak to her, set up live blogs attempting to find out where she was and bought her a necklace.
At the Miss England finals on Tuesday 4 September 2018 in Nottinghamshire, Deal attempted to grab Miss Bumford as she left the stage and kiss her. She told Deal to get off her but he refused. She had to be forceful to get Deal off her before running to her family who were nearby.
Deal sent Miss Bumford numerous messages in the days after the finals and her father even attempted to intervene by asking Deal to leave his daughter alone.
On Monday 10 September 2018 the victim was walking to work when she was approached by the defendant who said: “The only way you finished in the top 16 was because I told them that I was your boyfriend.” Miss Bumford called the police and on Friday 14 September 2018 Deal was arrested on suspicion of harassment.
Detective Constable Neil Causebrook, of Bournemouth CID, said: “Jonathan Deal became obsessed and fixated with Samantha Bumford and his behaviour escalated over a very short period of time. He stalked and harassed her and caused her a great deal of concern and distress.
“I hope the sentence handed out by the court today will reassure Samantha that she can go about her life without fear of being harassed by Deal again. If he breaches the restraining order he will find himself back before the court.
“Dorset Police recognises the impact stalking and harassment can have on victims – these can be devastating and long-lasting.
“I would encourage anyone who believes they are a victim of stalking or harassment to have the confidence to come forward and contact Dorset Police on 101 or 999 in an emergency. We are here to help and have officers trained to support victims and investigate these types of offences.”
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