IT ALL COMES OUT IN THE WASH!

Monmouth Florist Emma Webster of Emma Webster Flowers made false allegations to seek revenge and obtain sympathy and attention.

Emma Webster’s former boyfriend has had charges of harassment dismissed by Magistrates following an elaborate story told by Emma Webster to the police. Emma Webster was trying to gain control of some floristry web sites that her former partner had developed. She was also jealous of a new relationship that her former boyfriend was in and his plans to leave Wales to live in Devon with his new girlfriend.  

To be found guilty of harassment it only required the prosecution to prove two instances of harassment. Harassment can be unwanted phone calls, text messages, emails, visits or other direct contact and even unwanted gifts.

The defence demonstrated to the court that the allegations were completely untrue using phone logs and records, emails, text messages, photographs, CCTV footage, invoices for an account held for Severn Bridge crossings and also cell mast analysis, which is basically the mobile phone company’s technology that can track the whereabouts of a mobile phone.

Unusual for an harassment case, but there was no physical evidence to support the prosecution’s case. Phone records, text messages, emails, photos, CCTV, etc, were all used by the defendant in order to prove that the allegations against him were completely false.

The Court heard how it was not for a criminal court to settle relationship disputes and civil matters. Iron clad evidence produced to the court clearly demonstrated that the defendant was the target of a series of false, elaborate and fictional allegations made by Emma Webster.

The Court found the evidence of prosecution witnesses Emma Webster, Timothy Williams, Stephanie Edwards and Sarah O’Connor, to be not creditable and unbelievable. The Court said that they believed the two police officers evidence, this was evidence that supported the defendant’s case and evidence that Emma Webster disagreed with.

Most shocking was that Emma Webster made allegations that the defendant had harassed her throughout two days that she was working in her shop, Emma Webster Flowers, which led her to becoming very upset and distressed. However evidence from phone records, CCTV from Torquay and cell phone analysis clearly demonstrated that the defendant was in locations on the South Coast and nowhere near Monmouth. A third alleged instance of harassment one evening was carefully noted by Emma Webster along with the time it happened. Again through physical evidence it was proved that the defendant was once again not in Monmouth at the time of the alleged incident and was in fact in his car, on the motorway, travelling back from Devon to Monmouth.

It was clearly pointed out that the Magistrates Court was not there to deal with relationship arguments, apart from those that did break the law, and were not there to deal with Civil disputes, referring to the web sites.

The defence evidence was impressive and the court was reminded that it was actually the prosecution's job to prove the defendant guilty, which they could not do. It was also commented on that although not the defendant’s job to prove his innocence, he had in fact proved himself to be completely innocent of the allegations.

 It is at the Court's discretion if they award costs or not, and it is very easy for a court to refuse costs, especially if they feel the defendant may have been at some fault. The defendant was awarded full costs. Three days in Court plus all the other preparation costs for both sides means a pretty substantial legal bill. Emma Webster’s allegations, has cost the tax payer at least £20,000 in legal costs, prison costs and police time.

Emma Webster had made complaints to the police about the defendant, a former boyfriend, on three occasions. Strangely enough on each of these three occasions it was following a dispute over some floristry web sites. Nothing came of the first complaint around the start of this year. The second led to an harassment warning being given in June. At the trial two policemen testified in court that a matter of just a few days after being given the harassment warning following the complaint made by Emma Webster, they witnessed the two of them embracing and kissing outside a public house in Monmouth. They observed the two together and told the court how they appeared to be perfectly happy in one another’s company. The third complaint made by Emma Webster, again following a dispute between them over web sites, led to her former boyfriend being arrested on 25th September. He subsequently spent 3 days in police custody and 3 days on remand at HMP Cardiff.

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