A woman who created a fake Facebook profile in her ex-partner's name and repeatedly lied to police, causing him to spend 72 hours in custody, has been given a suspended prison sentence.
Melissa Dinsdale, 29, of Thorne Square, Sunderland, pleaded guilty to seven counts of doing acts tending and intended to pervert the course of justice between August and December 2023. The court heard she and the victim were childhood sweethearts who rekindled their relationship in 2016 and had two children together.
Campaign of false allegations
After the couple separated, the man began a new relationship, and his new partner fell pregnant, which was announced on social media. From that point, Dinsdale began making false allegations about him breaching a non-molestation order she had obtained against him.
Rachel Butt, prosecuting, said: "He believed it was a direct result of the news being announced." The offending came to light when Dinsdale was arrested in December 2023 on suspicion of harassing the victim. Police became suspicious because she persistently refused to hand over her phone, instead providing only screenshots.
Arrests and custody
Police found she had created a Facebook profile in the name of her former partner and sent herself messages purporting to come from him, then reported them as breaches of the order. In August 2023, she told police she was being stalked and that he had messaged her telling her not to be a grass. The man was arrested on August 23 and held for 15 hours.
Further arrests followed on September 26 (13 hours), October 12 (11 hours), November 6, and December 18 (15 hours). On December 20, Dinsdale scheduled the deletion of the fake account, but police intervened. She was arrested on December 22 after her victim made a counter allegation.
Victim impact and sentencing
In a victim impact statement, the man said: "I feel harassed by her and let down with how long this been allowed to go on for. I spent hours and hours in police custody when I'm the innocent party." He added that her lies made people believe he was a domestic abuser and that he had been registered with Clare's Law for things he did not do.
Recorder Nick Tucker said he was "concerned and disappointed" that the man was still subject to Clare's Law. He told Dinsdale: "These were wicked offences." He added that she had acted out of "spite" and that the man's repeated arrests were "exactly what you intended should happen. That was your revenge."
Recorder Tucker said that if only the seriousness of the offending were considered, he would have no hesitation in sending her to prison, but he noted the impact on her children. Dinsdale was sentenced to 30 months suspended for two years, with a mental health treatment requirement for six months and a restraining order.
Sophie Allinson-Howells, defending, said Dinsdale was "begging the court for mercy" for her children, who live with her, and that she had "adverse childhood experiences" and suffers from depression, PTSD, and multiple sclerosis.
