Ex broke into woman's home after she asked him to change Facebook picture
A man who broke into his ex-girlfriend's house after she told him to change his Facebook profile photo has been jailed for a year.
Winston J. Francis, of Meadow Avenue, West Bromwich, was locked up for harassment after he also took his former partner's dog, demanded her mobile phone and violently thrust a pushchair at her.
The 29 year old visited his ex-girlfriend's Walsall Road house at 8pm October 23 to collect some of his belongings, Wolverhampton Crown Court heard.
Prosecutor Ms Megan Wynn-Owen said, while there, Francis asked for the victim's mobile and thrust a pushchair at her causing her to fall to the sofa. He then took her dog, which he returned a short time later.
She went to bed later that night, securing the windows and doors, and was woken at 5.30am by a loud noise, which also woke her three young children.
Believing it was Francis banging on the door, the victim pulled the blankets over her head and pretended to be asleep.
Ms Wynn-Owen said Francis forced entry to the home, held the victim's neck down so she could not move and 'demanded to know where her new man was'.
The children, aged two, five, and seven, entered the room and Francis left the property.
Ms Wynn-Owen told the court that during interview Francis said he had received a message from the victim asking him to remove his profile picture on Facebook - a photo of the pair when they were still together - as her new boyfriend did not like it.
He went to her house as he wanted to talk, and admitted to climbing through the window and 'nudging her and shaking her awake'.
During sentencing, Recorder Anthony Lowe said it was the breaking in to the house that troubled him most.
"Former partners who had threats made to them might live in continuous fear of those threats being carried out," Mr Lowe said. "And in this case the victim's worst fear came true.
"She believed it was you outside and she was right. You effectively broke into her home at 5.30 in the morning and while she was in bed you held her by the neck, and to aggravate matters this was witnessed by three very young children.
"I don't think you need to be a psychologist to believe their sense of safety was seriously compromised by witnessing what happened to their mother, in her bedroom, in their home. In my judgement this is a very serious case of harassment."
A restraining order has also been issued preventing Francis from any form of contact with the victim and her children.
The defendant had pleaded guilty to the charge at an earlier appearance, where the original count of burglary was amended to harassment.
