A MAN who repeatedly stalked a Limerick mother of one, having previously been convicted of harassing the terrified woman, has been jailed for two and half years.
Ukrainian native Ruslan Nitsyn (47), of no fixed abode, Dublin, pleaded guilty before Limerick Circuit Criminal Court to one count of harassment of 32-year-old Gillian McCarthy, between 20 October, 2023, and 1 January, 2024.
It was the second time Mr Nitsyn engaged in a “campaign of harassment” against Ms McCarthy, prosecution counsel John O’Sullivan told the court.
On July 4, 2023, Nitsyn received a three-month jail sentence at Limerick District Court for harassing Ms McCarthy. The sentence was suspended in full, on condition Nitsyn stayed out of Limerick and had no contact with the woman.
Mr O’Sullivan said “the ink was barely dry” on the court order when Nitsyn breached it.
“That he declared his unbinding love for Gillian McCarthy is worrying, and since he encountered Gillian McCarthy, he has become dangerously infatuated with the victim,” said Mr O’Sullivan.
Nitsyn, who has lived and worked in Ireland since 2001, became fixated with Gillian McCarthy when he delivered goods to her mother’s house, thinking it was the victim’s home, on October 27, 2021.
Mr O’Sullivan said Ms McCarthy and her mother both operate an equestrian centre in Clarina, County Limerick, and that “it was very worrying for them”.
Breaching the earlier court order, Nitsyn telephoned Ms McCarthy a number of times. He also left a soft teddy bear, cards, flowers, and sweets at Ms McCarthy‘s home and wore a t-shirt reading “I love you”.
On another occasion, Nitsyn sat in a black BMW car outside the victim’s family home.
Nitsyn also texted Ms McCarthy saying “Where are you, I am outside”, and telephoned her again on New Year’s Day, 2024.
A special Garda patrol was put in place near Ms McCarthy’s home and Nitsyn was subsequently arrested in Dublin.
He acknowledged he had previously been convicted of harassing Ms McCarthy was told to stay away from her.
Nitsyn told Gardaí: “I love her … It looks like I am a bad person, but I don’t have any intention to harm her.”
Mr O’Sullivan said Gillian McCarthy had been “tormented” for two years by Nitsyn’s unwanted advances.
Ms McCarthy’s victim impact statement was read in court for her, as she said she was too scared to be in Nitsyn’s presence.
“Every time I see a black BMW car, I freeze, I am still afraid to go out alone to the (horse) stables, I put security in place, I constantly have a feeling of somebody watching me,” Ms McCarthy stated.
“I am constantly looking over my shoulder, my work has been affected, I can’t shake the feeling that somebody is looking in at me through the window.
“I can’t stay alone in my house, I feel very dependent on others. I find it hard to sleep, my chest feels very tight, and it can be very draining trying to deal with all these emotions.”
Nitsyn’s barrister said he had a “long history of serious mental health issues”, which worsened after he split from his wife and mother of his two children.
He was involuntarily admitted to psychiatric services in Ukraine in 2012 and 2019 having suffered with severe paranoia since 2006.
Judge Colin Daly backdated the two-and-a-half year sentence to January 3, 2024 – taking into account the time Nitsyn had remained in custody awaiting sentence. He also ordered that Nitsyn not communicate with Ms McCarthy or her family for a period of five years after his release from jail.
