Sydney lawyer fighting harassment charges over inner west fence dispute
A Sydney solicitor who allegedly contacted council staff 190 times over a fence said he was ‘desperate’ for help over a ‘violent’ dispute with his neighbour.
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Emails sent by Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese were among the subpoena list of an Annandale-based solicitor fighting allegations he harassed staff at Sydney councils.
Jonathan Hugh Douglas Bolton faces 15 charges including using a carriage service to harass and intimidate 10 staff at the former Leichhardt and current Inner West councils, including high profile chief executive Michael Deegan.
Police allege Bolton contacted council staff up to 190 times between February 2018 and June 2019, stemming from a “violent” dispute with a neighbour over a fence bounding their Pritchard St properties, a court heard.
The employee of JBL Law, whose website profile states he fights “relentlessly” for his clients’ rights, has pleaded not guilty.
Bolton told Downing Centre Local Court on Monday the barrage of messages he sent were “merely desperate pleas for consideration” by a man “vulnerable to a violent and aggressive neighbour” who he had previously taken out an AVO against.
Bolton represented himself in court where Magistrate Phillip Stewart heard he would also argue that his arrest on June 23 — following months of alleged phones and emails to council staff — was “unnecessary and therefore unlawful”.
He spent five hours “standing up” in a cell Newtown police station, the court heard, that Sunday morning.
During evidence, Leading Senior Constable Jackie Buchanan said she made the decision to arrest Bolton as she “felt there was a need” to protect Mr Deegan, who had recently filed a complaint.
Bolton had made 262 calls to police about his neighbour since 2016 until his arrest, which he claimed had marked him as a “pest” and led his pleas to be “ignored” by local officers.
He told the court that Mr Deegan made a report to police in June 2019 after being “offended” by a voicemail message suggesting he had been appointed to the council’s top job by means “other than merit”, due to his links to Labor leader Mr Albanese and Mayor Darcy Byrne.
Bolton had intended to subpoena all emails between Mr Deegan, Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese and Mayor Darcy Byrne — but decided to “let it slide” as he would have the opportunity to cross examine the former Industry Australia boss on Tuesday.
Prosecutor Lachlan Kirby told the court police allege Bolton repeatedly sent emails and made calls to council staff over his neighbour’s successful development application for a fence approved by the former Leichhardt Council in 2016, which he had opposed.
Mr Kirby said the accused continued to contact certain staff members even after they changed workplaces from the former Leichhardt to the new Inner West Council, and after he was told his emails would not be responded to.
Bolton was put on restricted access to council staff due to rising concerns over the “volume and tone” of his correspondence, according to the council’s customer service manager Nellette Kettle.
The hearing continues.