A creepy stalker who hounded an underage girl during years of harassment in Dundee has been locked up after asking for a prison sentence.
Jake Handling refused to leave the girl alone and even tried to contact her through online shopping platforms.
He previously admitted stalking her over a four-year-period at locations in Dundee.
Handling also terrified his mother after holding her at knifepoint and threatening to kill her.
He was hauled into custody at Dundee Sheriff Court after previously failing to appear for sentencing.
It was revealed Handling first came across his then-15-year-old victim through skateboarding at Dudhope Park in summer 2019.
Handling was 24 at the time and after becoming friends, he quickly made her feel uneasy due to “weird” Instagram messages.
Fiscal depute Ewan Chalmers said: “Some time in 2020, the accused sent a picture on Instagram referring to her as a cutie pie.
“The complainer had tried to discourage the accused as she felt uncomfortable due to the significant age gap.
“He made suggestions he would wait for her to turn of age.”
The girl, Handling and a group of friends were skating under the Tay Road Bridge in 2020 when the creep was chastised by the group for making advances at her.
Mr Chalmers said she gave up skateboarding completely in order to avoid Handling.
The prosecutor added: “The complainer was being bombarded with messages by the accused which turned to her friends and family when the complainer blocked the accused on all platforms.”
Police spoke with Handling but he would continue to send rambling messages – including a rap – to the girl and her family.
He also made a social media post about how he had “fallen in love with a 15-year-old”.
Handling, of Adamson Court, later targeted the girl’s profiles on shopping sites Depop and Etsy.
On October 25 last year, he unleashed a torrent of verbal abuse at his mother on Mains Drive before running towards her while clutching a knife, seizing hold of her and pinning her to a chair while brandishing the knife at her head and saying: “I’m going to f*****g kill you.”
The court heard his mother feared for her life.
A mental health assessment was carried out on Handling, 30, and he was deemed fit to plead.
He pled guilty in August 2023 to stalking the girl between June 2019 and April 2023 but this was withdrawn after he obtained legal advice.
He admitted the charges in January this year, against the advice of his instructing solicitors.
Handling nodded twice after being asked by Sheriff David Hall if it was correct he did not want to engage in a community order and simply wanted a jail term.
He was sentenced to a total of 10 months in custody.
In May 2022, Just Stop Oil protestor Handling was given a jail sentence for breaching an injunction covering the Kingsbury oil terminal in Warwickshire.
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