A woman says an ex-government employee doggedly pursued her after she ended their two-year relationship.
The defendant's judge-alone trial, on two counts of breaching a protection order, began at the Dunedin District Court this morning.
The complainant told the court she and the man began communicating following attending a social event, but by March 2023 she ended the relationship.
"I'd tried to talk to him but he was real dismissive," she said.
After a period of silence, the defendant resumed contact, allegedly telling his ex-girlfriend it had been "the worst week of his life".
The woman said it was the start of several months of unwanted contact which resulted in two police safety orders being issued in her favour and, finally, a protection order in September 2023.
It is alleged the defendant breached that order by briefly approaching the woman at St Clair’s Long Dog Cafe in October that year and again in January 2024 when she encountered him several times by the beach on one day.
She described him on those occasions exhibiting a "piercing" and "intimidating" look.
However, in cross-examination, counsel Anne Stevens KC suggested the cafe was one her client frequented and said the sunglasses he was wearing would have obscured any supposed glare he gave her.
The witness accepted he never spoke or gestured to her on either occasion.
She also detailed several episodes which took place after their break-up, before the protection order was imposed.
At one point, the court heard, she was working in North Otago when she received a package from the defendant.
Inside were photos of the pair and one of their favourite spots on Dunedin’s Middle Beach, where they used to sit atop the sand dunes.
“I was frightened because I couldn’t remember telling him where that address was,” the woman said.
The witness said she was struggling to manage the break-up and contacted a police officer and family friend about her dilemma.
The former couple later bumped into one another at a function and found a secluded spot where they spoke for an hour.
The complainant said her ex told her "he wanted to basically marry me and stuff like that" then quizzed her about her new boyfriend.
Prosecutor Mike Brownlie asked her why she continued to engage with the defendant.
"I was trying to manage [his] expectations and behaviour. I didn’t want to upset him. He made me feel like I’d basically ruined his life and I felt bad," she said.
"I was fearful if I didn’t do what [he] wanted . . . what would happen. He hadn’t shown any signs of giving up. I began to feel at that point there was no getting away from him."
But in cross-examination, the woman accepted there had been no overt threats of harm made by the defendant.
One of their final organised meet-ups took place at the beach but there was no reconciliation or change in the dynamic, according to the witness.
"I tried to highlight to him how I was feeling, how his behaviour was making me feel. He just took no accountability and it was my fault and he had no awareness of how anything he was doing was impacting me," she told the court.
"I was scared. I didn’t understand why he couldn’t stop, couldn’t leave me alone, couldn’t move on."
The trial, before Judge Hermann Retzlaff is scheduled to run for three days.
