A woman who threatened and mocked a rape victim burst into tears as she was jailed.
Hayley Fairhurst, 33, her friend Danielle Taylor, 28, and boyfriend Michael Williams called the victim on Christmas Eve 2022 and bombarded her with vile abuse.
Prosecutor Eve Salter said the victim began to receive calls from an Instagram account she didn't recognise at around 11pm on December 24.
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She said: "They were making threats and telling her they knew where she lived and would come to her house to batter her. They called her a 'lying rat'. They made threats to batter members of her family, they called her a grass, a slag and a liar."
The abusive calls continued until around 1am on Christmas Day. Afterwards, the woman told police: "This incident has made me feel anxious. I don't even feel safe going to the shop. I feel like I'm literally going to lose the plot. I have enough stress as it is dealing with the trauma from (the rape)."
Michael Williams received a three month sentence for witness intimidation, as part of a longer six-year sentence for robbery, possession of a firearm and grievous bodily harm, in May 2023.
Jack Williams, of Wokefield Way, Eccleston, St Helens, pleaded guilty to a number of offences, including assault causing actual bodily harm, sexual assault, rape and sexual assault by penetration, in January 2023, and was later sentenced to 11 years and two months behind bars.
Kate Morley, defending Fairhurst, said her client had been "under the spell" of Michael Williams, who she had been in a relationship with for 13 years. She said: "She has been emotionally dependant on him for many years. She was the victim of sustained domestic violence and controlling behaviour. For many years she had resisted Williams' drinking to excess and drug use, but she succumbed in 2022 and her biggest fear came true: she lost custody of her children.
"She genuinely believed she couldn't live without (Williams) and her life revolved around trying to please him, and it's against that background she committed these offences. She holds no ill will towards the victim and is extremely apologetic for causing distress.
"The six year sentence given to Michael Williams has afforded Fairhurst the chance to re-evaluate her life. She is no longer binge drinking. She is engaging with social services. The improvement means she has now twice-weekly unsupervised contact with her four children."
Carmel Wilde, defending Taylor, said: "She recognises she needs to address her mental health, having been diagnosed with emotionally unstable personality disorder. She recognises that monitoring sessions are something she needs to keep her on the straight and narrow.
"She has expressed regret. Why on earth she decided to involve herself in this is unknown even to her. She was clearly under the influence of alcohol."
Judge David Swinnerton said: "Witness intimidation is one of these offences which strikes at the heart of the administration of justice. It potentially interferes with the course of justice and is therefore a serious offence which is usually met by an immediate sentence of imprisonment."
He said both women had shown "little insight" into their offending, with Taylor blaming her friends for her actions. He sentenced Fairhurst, of Windle Hall Drive, St Helens, and Taylor, of Watery Lane, to 12 months in prison. They were also given a restraining order banning them from contacting the female victim for 15 years.
Fairhurst, who has one previous conviction for five offences, collapsed with her head on the docks following the ruling, and began to cry as she was taken to the cells. Taylor, who has 12 convictions for 22 offences including racially aggravated assault, common assault, actual bodily harm and drink driving, said goodbye to her partner before being led down.
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