‘Obsessive’ man used iPad and talc to check men visiting ex-girlfriend

Alan Fallon also slapped and ‘ridiculed’ his former partner during their ‘volatile’ relationship over a number of years.

The 39-year-old was reported to the police after he breached a court order by liking a TikTok post of hers, with the matter coming before Liverpool Crown Court.

This came after Fallon was charged with and admitted engaging in controlling and coercive behaviour and breaching a non-molestation order.

Prosecuting, Michael O’Brien told the court how the defendant was made the subject of a non-molestation order by the family courts on June 6 last year.

This prohibited contact with his former partner, but four weeks into the order, on July 2, she received a notification that Fallon had liked one of her TikTok posts.

This was of her, her baby and her new partner, which the court heard was an ‘invasion’, making her feel ‘sick and nervous that he was watching her’.

This, the court heard, was the ‘straw that broke the camel’s back’, and a ‘hand from the past, reaching out and distressing her’.

When the complainant reported the breach to the police, she also told them about his behaviour during their relationship.

This led to the controlling and coercive behaviour charge, which court documents date between December 29, 2015, and May 20, 2023, in Widnes.

The court heard the ‘on and off’ relationship began in 2012 before they separated in 2020, although the defendant remained living under the same roof as the complainant until May 2021.

It was said that there were a number of different types of controlling and coercive behaviour, one of which occurred in June 2019 while Fallon was drunk, or as the complainant described him, ‘absolutely bladdered’.

Having attended a first Holy Communion and returned home, Fallon was asked by his then-partner to help clean the house, but he screamed and pushed her out of the way.

While children were present, he also shouted using expletives and threatened to ‘stab them all’.

Alan Fallon was sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court (Image: Newsquest)

Then in July 2021, when the defendant became aware the complainant was in a relationship with someone new and pregnant, he threatened to stab her and her new boyfriend.

The court was told of an incident in 2017, after Fallon had been drinking after attending a wake, when he delivered a backhanded slap to the victim’s face in front of children.

There were other occasions when, during an argument, he would press his forehead against her head, and some when he threatened to assault her, again using expletives, while he also displayed ‘obsessive’ behaviour about her getting a new boyfriend.

More controlling and coercive behaviour was demonstrated by him installing an iPad on the landing of her home to monitor what men had been in the house and ‘if she was sleeping with them’.

Fallon, described during the hearing as ‘extremely jealous’, also put talc on the doorstep to monitor if people were coming and going.

In an impact statement, the victim said: “My past experience with him is affecting my current relationship.

“He ridiculed me when I talked to him, which upset me. I left my job because he knew where I worked and I would have to walk home at night.

“I fear he will repeat his behaviour, and I do not know what he is capable of.”

Mr O’Brien revealed that Fallon has three previous convictions, including for assault, but his last conviction was for theft in 2012.

He described the behaviour as ‘persistent and over a prolonged period to maximise fear of violence, causing very serious alarm and distress’.

Offering mitigation on behalf of his client, Ryan Rothwell, defending, referenced how it is accepted by the prosecution that the complainant did assault the defendant during the relationship and called him names.

He also said that Fallon sent her money to pay off her debts, commenting: “His behaviour, in a number of ways and at times during the period of this indictment, has been helpful to this complainant.”

Mr Rothwell said that the defendant is a ‘perfect candidate for rehabilitation’, is ‘clearly remorseful’ and is a hard worker, and he asked for the inevitable custodial sentence to be suspended.

Before sentencing, recorder Mark Ainsworth said: “It was a very difficult relationship for her. You were aggressive, threatening and abusive. It must have been absolutely terrifying for the children.”

He described the iPad incident ‘absolutely appalling’, and paired with the talc incident, recorder Ainsworth branded Fallon ‘obsessively jealous’, and his behaviour ‘disgraceful’.

“You come from a stable and supportive family, making it more puzzling that you thought it acceptable to act in this way,” he continued.

“When reading the papers last night, I thought the outcome today would be that you would be going straight to prison.

“Having listened to what has been said on your behalf, I am persuaded to take a different course in your case.”

Fallon, of Ditchfield Road in Widnes, was sentenced to 18 months in prison, but suspended for 18 months.

He must also complete 20 rehabilitation activity requirement days, including the thinking skills and building better relationships programmes, undertake 200 hours of unpaid work and pay £1,800 in compensation.

Moreover, the court also imposed three restraining orders on him prohibiting him from contacting or approaching the victim or her family.