Cllr Adam Lowe Oakham Town Council Bullying and Threatening Oakham Mayor Zoe Nealson Rutland Times

Cllr Adam Lowe Oakham Town Council Bullying and Threatening Oakham Mayor Zoe Nealson Rutland Times

Malicious, Threatening, Homophobic, Phone Caller to appear at Loughborough Magistrates Court, today

Malicious, Threatening, Homophobic, Phone Caller to appear at Loughborough Magistrates Court today.

I agreed with Leicestershire Police  that I would not publish the name of the person before they appear in court, although I don't trust the police anymore I want them to be able to trust me.

The man from Leicester made many disgusting, threatening and disturbing phone calls to me after my court case last last year. Finally after five years of complaining to Leicestershire Police about hate crimes mainly carried out by Cllr Charles Haworth and two former Oakham Mayor's named in court by a former Melton Borough Council employee, they have taken one of my complaints and not ignored it or binned the evidence yet...

PC 2113 Icke was in charge of the investigation, Leicestershire police trace the man who had witheld his number. At  the officer was reluctant to pass on any information to me, even suggesting to me it was unusual for a victim to want to know details like the indentity of the attacker and the court date.

He told me the man was mortified, because he had been caught and a police officer was sitting in his home reading the content of the many calls he had made.

PC Icke anticipates the man will plead guilty and magistrates will deal with him today and he feels he has done his job and won't be in court and is unlikely to hear the outcome of the case if the man pleas guilty adding he would only know if the man pleads not guilty and he is called to give evidence.

I informed my avocate Mr Swingler and the director of prosecutions and others about Leicesters Police's initial refusal to provide me with any details about the case. This resulted in PC Icke being given permission to give me some very basic information. This is how Leicestershire Police treat victims of Hate Crimes.

PC Icke is on holiday  and won't be attending court and unlike my disgraceful trial last year, I am not expecting to see a circus of  Inspectors who were on duty and who decided  to sit in the court building chatting rather than working along with the many other police officers who attended, in the inspectors words "because it's a high profile case", not forgetting the badly behaved town councillors and their friends. Paid council staff who should have been at work.

I have taken unpaid leave today and will shortly be taking the slow train to Loughborough, hopefully I will arrive before 10.00am.

I will tweet an update later.  https://twitter.com/OakhamUK

Gay blogger threatened and branded ‘pedophile’ for challenging politicians

Martin Brookes has won a court case accusing him of harassing local political leaders, but his nightmare isn’t over

20 OCTOBER 2013 | BY TRIS REID-SMITH, OMAR KUDDUS

 Cllr Charles Haworth

A secret gang have made life hell for a gay man who exposes wrongdoing by local politicians – by harassing him and branding him a pedophile.

Martin Brookes’ blog into local politics in Central England has uncovered embarrassing facts for his area’s local councils that have been picked up by the BBC and Private Eye, the UK satirical and investigative journalism magazine.

But rather than being thanked, he’s been hounded – sent hate mail and left anonymous phone messages threatening him. He’s even been taken to court himself, accused of stalking and harassing two council bigwigs.

Brookes, 47, moved to Oakham, the main town in the landlocked county of Rutland, in the heart of England, seven years ago.

He got involved in the online Rutland Chat Forum but says people there attacked him because he is gay.

When, in 2009 he realized some of those people were involved in the local councils, he became interested in politics.

He says he uncovered ‘small wrongdoings’ by local politicians, including his criticism they spent £60,000 ($97,000 €70,000) of council money on a private gym.

He even got a seat on Oakham Town Council twice but stood down the first time after a few months because the attacks on him became too much.

He was kicked out the second time after posting an indecent image on a council noticeboard – he said he had been sent the picture and thought it was ‘bullying’ but accepted he should not have put it up.

His approach to challenging the council, however, led to a series of hate crimes against him.

From 2010 he was sent numerous letters branding him ‘Pedophile Brookes’ with ‘disgusting, homophobic and sexually explicit’ content. He was even falsely accused of his partner’s murder.

He told Gay Star News: ‘They have called me a sponger, prostitute and a pedophile.

‘They sent me emails and messages saying things like I bet you are glad your partner was cremated after you murdered him, you are the only man in Rutland who has had sex with a dead man.’

The false claims of pedophilia were spread online too.

Brookes said: ‘The police had to come and tell my neighbors I am not a pedophile because I was challenged outside in my street by people saying we don’t want pedophiles living here.

‘The police had to go to the local youth club to tell the young men there – and one of them assaulted me – “Mr Brookes is not a pedophile”.’

But he claims police ignored the actions of the people harassing him, even throwing away hate letters left with them as evidence.

He said: ‘Over the years I reported hate crimes to local police they did nothing. One police officer suggested if I didn’t like Rutland I should consider moving.

‘I own my property here and I don’t have a job, I can’t get a job, so I can’t move. If I could move, I would. But then I think why should I?’

Then two people, Rutland County Council chief executive Helen Briggs and Oakham Town Councilor Charles Haworth accused Brookes of stalking and harassing them, the police prosecuted and he went on trial.

He was found not guilty at Leicester Magistrates Court on Monday (14 October).

District Judge John Temperley said Brookes was not harassing Briggs by repeatedly emailing and blogging about her, just using his freedom of expression.

He also accepted Brookes had phoned and texted Haworth because he was trying to find out who was attacking him on a website which had been set up anonymously by the councilor.

As the Rutland Times reports, Judge Temperley said: ‘Freedom of expression is an essential function of a democratic society. It is applicable also to those who offend and shock.

‘Some of the comment is harsh, shocking or personally offensive, but that does not mean it is criminal.’

Haworth had argued in the trial his attacks on Brookes on his Laughing Stocks website were satirical.

But Judge Temperley said: ‘I don’t agree. Some of the material goes way beyond satire. They are crude and crass and homophobic.’

And the judge said other claims made by Howarth against Brookes were ‘exaggerated’.

Now, finally, the police have approached Brookes about investigating his claims he has been harassed and threatened – though it is not clear exactly who all the anonymous messages and calls have come from.

Brookes told GSN: ‘In general, the people who live in Rutland who are not involved in politics are very nice people.

‘I have had people coming up to me in the last few days to congratulate me on my win.

‘There are good, honest people on the local councils too.

‘If you look at the people themselves doing this, they do not share one political allegiance. It is a very small core of hardened Rutlanders who will attack in a foul way.’

But despite his court win, the nightmare isn’t over. Brookes’ announcement he will seek criminal prosecution of his persecutors has been met with more anonymous phone threats – telling him to back off.

His house in Willow Crescent, Oakham is under 24-hour CCTV surveillance as the false claims he is a pedophile have made him a potential target.

He said: ‘They have ruined my life in this town. It is scary to be intimidated. Friends are scared to be seen with me. I can’t explain how much this has affected me. And you think what on earth have I done?
’

- See more at: http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/gay-blogger-threatened-and-branded-%E2%80%98pedophile%E2%80%99-challenging-politicians201013#sthash.tF9qIqjK.dpuf