12:00a.m. 24th July 2008

| By Rae Wilson

Lynette Hartley leaves Maroochydore District Court after pleading guilty to stalking.

The saying jealousy is a curse rang true in Maroochydore District Court yesterday.

A single mother of four was “a hair’s breadth” away from spending time behind bars for stalking her former boyfriend and his fiancée.

Lynette Anne Hartley, who had only seen the 33-year-old man causally for about four months in 2006, first became upset and abusive when he returned tickets to Sydney for his birthday more than a month after they broke up. She responded by throwing beer bottles and a vegemite jar at his car, smashing a rear window.

Ms Hartley — after seeing him celebrating his birthday with his new girlfriend, 23, at a pub in February last year — then sent eight text messages in breach of a court order and harassed the woman at her workplace.

Just two days after she was convicted of breaching that order, the 40-year-old broke into her former boyfriend’s home on April 5 last year.

She poured vodka over the man’s computer and stole some of the woman’s belongings.

Later the same month, she broke in again and poured water over the computer hard drive, a DVD player and stole more possessions.

The damage totalled $2355.

In June last year, she saw the woman’s car parked out the front of the man’s house and decided to throw white paint over it, causing $5500 damage.

When she later drove past to inspect her handiwork with a friend, the girl’s father asked why she would trash the car and she replied “cause I can” and laughed.

When he asked why she was still obsessed with harassing the pair six months after she had broken up with the man, she said she would not stop.

“That bastard is gonna pay for what he did to me and I will never let up, no matter what the cops or courts do to me. They will never prove it or catch me. And as long as your daughter is with him, she’ll be in the firing line,” she said.

The court heard yesterday that Ms Hartley had previously been convicted of wilful damage at the home of a former boyfriend’s new partner.

Defence barrister Steven Middleton said his client and her four children, aged 15 to 4, had moved away from the area.

“She is extremely remorseful for her actions last year. She accepts it was exceptionally inappropriate behaviour.”

Judge Terrance Martin gave Ms Hartley 12 months’ jail with immediate parole and a three-year restraining order.

He said he believed she was “totally without remorse” and needed the supervision provided by parole.

“You have come within a hair’s breadth of being incarcerated today, however it means you will be on parole for 12 months from today,” he said.

“Should you breach the parole in any way, it is almost inevitable you will be taken to prison to serve the 12 months.

“I accept that while your conduct has been brazen in the extreme there has been no contact with the (victims) since.

“This is the second episode of this type of conduct. The matters before me are a more serious example of the conduct than the previous time.

“One can’t help but feel some discomfort that this conduct is escalating rather than abating.”

The couple, outside court, described the stalking as scary and creepy. They said they had moved twice and the girl had been forced to change her job.

“It would have been nice to see some compensation but I’m pleased she’s got the supervision so hopefully she won’t do it to someone again,” she said.