Persistent stalker Phillemon William Warradoo, 32, sentenced for terrorising a Palm Cove family, lurking and looking in their windows at night

A Palm Cove mother and her young daughters say they are traumatised, terrified and unable to sleep after they were stalked by a stranger who jumped their high fence, looked through their windows and sat on their balcony late at night.

Phillemon William Warradoo, 32, of Lockhart River, has pleaded guilty to stalking a mother at her Palm Cove home, wilfully damaging her daughter’s window fly screen, lurking in their yard at night and tapping on their windows.

A “fixated” man who repeatedly stared through a Palm Cove family’s windows, jumped their fence, and lurked in their yard because he was “in love” has been sentenced to 14 months jail for stalking them for the second time in a year.

Phillemon William Warradoo, 32, pleaded guilty in Cairns Magistrates Court to stalking, trespassing, wilfully damaging a window screen at the family’s home and three times breaking a restraining order.

The court was told Warradoo, who has a 16-page criminal history, was not known to the mother and two daughters whose home he repeatedly visited late at night; his behaviour was described as “predatory”.

Warradoo, 32, was described in Cairns Magistrates Court as “fixated”; he told police he was “in love” with one of the daughters of the home where he was trespassing. Photo: iStock

He said he was “in love” with the victim’s daughter, the court was told.

Magistrate Leanne Scoines said the man’s repeated and terrifying visits to the family’s home had a devastating effect on them, with the three women unable to go out at night now, experiencing trouble sleeping, and living in a state of fear.

She said Warradoo was first convicted in July 2024 and jailed for stalking the family over a two-month period in early 2024, and a restraining order was put in place to prevent him from going within 100m of their home.

He resumed stalking them in December 2024, the court was told, jumping a six-foot fence to gain entry to their yard, tapping on the windows, cutting the flyscreen on the daughter’s window, sitting on their balcony and “lurking” in their yard.

The victim had to call triple-0 three times in one night when they saw Warradoo lurking in their yard or staring into their windows on multiple occasions between 11pm and 5am on December 18, 2024

Ms Scoines said the family had to call triple-0 three times in one night between 11pm and 5am when they kept seeing Warradoo in their property, but he had gone by the time police arrived on each occasion.

The most recent stalking happened between December 18 and December 23, 2024, and was captured on a neighbour’s security cameras, the court was told.

Ms Scoines said the impact on the family had been devastating, with the mother’s victim impact statement describing her state of mind as “fearful of everything”.

“They cannot go out at night and are in a constant state of trauma … he’s had a devastating emotional impact on (the mother’s) wellbeing and on her daughters: Ms Scoines said.

One daughter moved out of the family home as a result of the stalking, the court was told.

Magistrate Leanne Scoines sentenced Warradoo to 14 months jail, two months longer than the 12-month sentence submission made by police prosecutions.

Magistrate Scoines sentenced Warradoo to 14 month jail, two months longer than the 12-months suggested by the police prosecution team, saying deterrence was especially important in the case.

“Although no violence has occurred, he appears to be fixated, and the impact on the victims in this matter is at the extreme end,” Ms Scoines said.

He will be eligible for release on parole on June 1, 2025, which takes into account the 103 days he has already served in custody.

Originally published as Persistent stalker Phillemon William Warradoo, 32, sentenced for terrorising a Palm Cove family, lurking and looking in their windows at night