Sisters subjected to ‘living hell’ by stalker
Two Roscommon sisters, aged in their 20s, told Roscommon Circuit Court that they were in fear for their lives and terrified of what would happen once Alan Higgins was released from prison.
Higgins, aged 26, of Ballymacurley, Castleplunkett, Castlerea, pleaded guilty at a previous court sitting to two charges of harassing the women on dates between Nov 2011 and Feb 2012.
Sergeant John Hynes told the court that Higgins had briefly attended the same second-level school as the two sisters. In Sept 2004 he had attended Castlerea Community School for two months and was in one of the sisters' class. They had rarely spoken to each other.
He began to harass her, took pictures of her in her school uniform without her consent and sent them along with obscene pictures — not of her — to her home.
“He seemed to be infatuated with her,” Sgt Hynes said. After a local disco he had seen her get into a car with her friends and he had thrown a beer bottle, smashing a window of the car.
A letter he had written was subsequently found in a shop in Castlerea in which he said he wanted to bring her to a public park in Castlerea and described what he would like to do to her sexually. The letter contained a list of her friends and he threatened to kill them if they were seen in her company, because she was his.
At Castlerea District Court in 2008 Higgins received a suspended prison sentence and was bound to the peace for two years after the woman made a complaint to gardaí. In 2011 she got a message from him on Facebook and discovered he had downloaded pictures of her from her Facebook page, and uploaded them to his own page.
“She was in fear of her life at what Alan Higgins would do to her,” Sgt Hynes said.
In Nov 2011, the woman's sister received a Facebook message from Higgins, identifying himself and telling her she was pretty. Shortly afterwards he sent another message telling her that he had both sisters’ pictures on his PS3 and added “when I get a car, I’ll stalk ye both”.
Sgt Hynes said the younger sister was hospitalised due to stress and fear.
When arrested and questioned last November, Higgins said he was sorry and that while things he had said might be seen as a threat, he would not harm anyone.
In emotional victim impact statements, both sisters said that they had huge concerns about what would happen when Higgins was released from prison.
The older sister told the court: “He has made my life a living hell… he has threatened to get me again and to kick the face off my dad.”
Judge Tony Hunt said there was no question of Higgins coming out of prison until appropriate treatment had taken place.
The judge ordered a fresh psychiatric report and a Probation and Welfare Service report to be prepared for the court in November, and remanded Higgins in custody.
