Gerard Henderson indicates plea for stalking, breaching court orders

A serial stalker allegedly used social media and private numbers to harass and intimidate a woman after being released from prison, court documents reveal.

Gerard Henderson.

A serial stalker allegedly used social media and private numbers to harass and intimidate a woman after being released from prison, court documents reveal.

Gerard Henderson, 45, fronted the Geelong Magistrates Court on Monday facing 16 charges, including stalking, 14 counts of contravening a family violence intervention order and one count of persistently contravening such an order.

According to charge sheets released by the court, Mr Henderson allegedly stalked his victim between April 2-7 this year.

Mr Henderson is accused of calling the woman from private numbers and creating fake social media accounts – which he used to send the victim multiple friend requests “with the intention of causing physical or mental harm to the victim, including self-harm, or of arousing apprehension or fear in the victim for his or her own safety”.

According to police, Mr Henderson called his victim using a private number four times on April 2, twice on April 3, six times on April 4 and once each on April 5, 6 and 7.

During the calls, Mr Henderson “does not talk” – according to the charge sheets – and he allegedly continued despite knowing his conduct “will probably cause apprehension or fear”.

Between April 2-4, Mr Henderson also allegedly sent his victim friend requests on popular social media app Snapchat.

When the matter was called on Monday, Mr Henderson’s lawyer told the court the matter had resolved and asked for an adjournment for a plea hearing at a future date.

The recidivist stalker was sentenced in November to just under 11 months in prison, minus 207 days he’d already served in custody until that point.

Mr Henderson, who has a lengthy criminal history for stalking, threats and ignoring court orders, was released from prison on March 31, just days before his latest alleged campaign of intimidation and harassment.

The 45-year-old, who remains in custody, will reappear in court on June 2.

Originally published as Gerard Henderson indicates plea for stalking, breaching court orders