Man jailed for stalking and harassment against Merseyside woman

We are welcoming the sentencing of a Cheshire man to 20 months for Stalking and Harassment offences against a Merseyside woman.

Ryan Smith, 31, of Eversley, Widnes, was sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court today, Friday 26 June for the following offences:

Stalking involving serious alarm/distress

Threat to damage/destroy property

Harassment – Breach of a Restraining Order on conviction

In May, a report was received of Smith breaching a Harassment Order which had been issued at court in 2025. He attended the address of the victim and refused to leave, causing her to flee.

During our investigation, Smith was also found to have contacted the victim via social media, calling her derogatory names and making threats to damage her home and car, and carried out further verbal abuse and threats over the phone. Smith was arrested and charged on May 29.

Detective Constable Charlie Harris from our Public Protection Unit (PPU) Domestic Abuse team said: “We are pleased to see Smith swiftly face the consequences of his despicable crimes, and we recognise the harm that this has caused to the victim.

“I want to thank her for engaging with our investigation, ensuring justice was done within weeks of the offences, and ensuring that further measures can be put in place to support her in the future. Vital to this successful prosecution was evidence provided by the victim. Being targeted in such a way is distressing, so to have the presence of mind to screenshot messages helps us as we build the case.

“We are relentless in our pursuit of offenders and are determined to put them before the courts. This investigation is one example of the work that our officers carry out every day to bring offenders to justice and ensure that victim-survivors are given the support that they need.

“We are determined to break that cycle of abuse where perpetrators continue to commit crime after crime against their victim thinking that every time they do, they are less likely to get caught.

“I would really like to urge anyone who may be a victim of domestic abuse, or know someone who is a victim, to please reach out for help. We take reports of domestic abuse extremely seriously, and we are here to listen and support you and bring perpetrators to justice.”

The following partner agencies can help victims of stalking with support and advice for which there is no charge:

• PALADIN, which is a National Stalking Advocacy Service who can be contacted on 020 3866 4107, or email - [email protected] . They are also on Facebook and Instagram. The Police cannot make a referral on the victim’s behalf as PALADIN can’t accept a police referral.  Referral is made by the victim only.
• MDVS (Merseyside Domestic Victims of Stalking), which is a Local Stalking Advocacy Service who can be contacted on 07802722703 or [email protected].  The Police can make a referral on the victim’s behalf with consent OR by the victim directly OR by any third-party person/service.

For more information on all of the work we're doing to tackle Violence Against Women and Girls please visit www.merseyside.police.uk/vawg.

Call 999 now in emergency situations like these:

• there is an immediate danger to life
• someone is using violence or is threatening to be violent
• a crime is happening right now and the suspect is still at the scene

Hearing or speech impairments

• If you’ve pre-registered with the emergencySMS service, use our textphone service 18000 or text us on 999.
• Call 999 BSL to use a British Sign Language interpreter.