Stewart Arthur Finn pleads guilty in Roma Magistrates Court to breaching bail condition

A Roma man who was grant bail over alleged stalking charges has landed in court for using a popular streaming service to contact the victim. Here’s what happened.

After her alleged stalker was charged and released on bail, a woman made the startling discovery that he had logged into her Stan account and left an unsettling message.

Stewart Arthur Finn pleaded guilty in Roma Magistrates Court to breaching one of his bail conditions, namely to not contact the victim.

Police prosecutor Mathew Donnelly said in early January Finn was granted bail for alleged stalking charges, with one of the conditions forbidding him from either directly or indirectly contacting the victim.

However on February 6 Finn broke that bail condition after logging into the victim’s Stan account to delete all her profiles except for one and changing its name to ‘you f–king dog’.

Subsequently on February 28 police attended the defendant’s home and arrested him.

“It’s at the lower end, it’s also an indirect contact which does cause some anxiety,” Mr Donnelly said.

Finn has two prior criminal history entries dating back to 2012 which includes public nuisance and contravening a requirement.

Deputy chief magistrate Stephen Courtney said his behaviour was “immature and childish”.

“It would’ve been really unsettling I would’ve thought for this lady to open up her Stan account and realise you had done what you did,” the magistrate said.

“This wasn’t a subtle message but you did it in a roundabout way.

“I recognise as part of the broader picture that you will probably be dealt with later.”

Finn was convicted and not further punished. No conviction was recorded.

His matter has been adjourned to November 15 for a committal hearing.