Published on 17/05/2013 07:00
A former Oakham town councillor has denied in court harassing four people including town councillors and a police officer.
Martin Brookes, 47, of Willow Crescent, Oakham pleaded not guilty to eight charges of harassment without violence before Loughborough magistrates on Wednesday.
The alleged harassment includes making silent phone calls, waiting outside a former colleague’s house and posting malicious content on his blog and on social networking sites such as Twitter.
Brookes was released on conditional bail.
The conditions include not contacting directly or indirectly any of the alleged victims and not going near their home addresses.
He is also banned from taking or publishing photographs on the internet of any of the alleged victims or from recording or researching private, confidential, personal facts about them.
Brookes cannot attend any public or private meetings of either Rutland County Council or Oakham Town Council and he cannot enter any of their premises, including car parks, except the libraries.
He was also ordered to remove a photograph of one of the alleged victims from his website blog.
Almost all the offences are alleged to have taken place this year, between February and April.
Brookes must return to the court on June 12, when his case is due to be heard in full.
Brookes was elected unopposed to Oakham Town Council in February 2010 but resigned in July that year.
He was again elected unopposed in June 2011 and served for a few months.
Correction:
THE CASE WILL NOT BE HEARD IN FULL AS PUBLISHED IN THE RUTLAND TIMES AND MERCURY, Rutland Times incorrectly reported my court appearance and repeated the same errors a week later in the Rutland Mercury.
The Rutland Times also refuse to tell me who provided them with the published photograph taken many years ago.
The Rutland Times say they will follow this case and treat me fairly. I believe that when I see it.
This week the Rutland Times publishes details of another court case and leaves out the name. which is their normal poor journalistic standards.
An 18-year-old man has been charged with robbery.
The charge follows an alleged theft at a shop in High Street East, Uppingham, at about 1pm on Wednesday,
May 22. The man appeared at Loughborough Magistrates Court on Friday for a preliminary hearing.
