A soldier who showed up uninvited at his ex-girlfriend’s home to propose to her has been demoted and issued a restraining order.
33-year-old Corporal Philip Dragon from the UK is a soldier of 16 years and a social media influencer who allegedly flooded his ex-girlfriend Chloe Haynes with unwarranted messages calling for the pair’s reunion.
According to the reports, the Corporal one day also appeared at his ex’s home in order to propose to her even though she had previously told him to stop talking to her on several occasions.
Despite telling the man she would no longer see him, the Corporal allegedly showered Haynes with gifts and messages.
“He begged her to stay and she refused, saying that she wanted to go. When she asked him to take her home he grabbed her arm, causing her to be scared and leaving a bruise,” Prosecutor William Peters said of Dragon’s relationship with Haynes.
“She told him she didn’t want to see him again. He sent her 55 texts, sent her gifts, flowers and sent her letters.”
According to the prosecutor, Dragon then also appeared at his ex’s home and proposed to her while surrounded by candles.
In addition to his interactions with Haynes, Dragon allegedly also harassed Jade Brisband, a Lance Corporal whom he dated for three weeks before she called it quits.
As the military court heard, the 33-year-old created fake social media accounts to get in touch with Brisband. He reportedly also showed up at her home several times.
“He sent her numerous, unsolicited texts and messages and she had to block him on social media. He created pseudo social media accounts to contact her so he could try to restart the relationship,” the prosecutor said.
“She felt under constant pressure, felt fear and felt harassed that he would not leave her alone. In police interview, he accepted the facts but described himself as a hopeless romantic and wanted to rekindle their relationship.”
During a military court appearance, Dragon’s representative Trevor Line claimed his client’s actions were a result of his “undying love” for his exes. According to a martial-court judge, however, the soldier’s actions were a “rather sad behavior for a man of his age.”
“His unwarranted contact with both of them arose out of him wishing to rekindle his relationship. They are messages that did not contain threats or nasty words, they are him stating his undying love for them,” Line said.
“He is, as he sees it, a rejected boyfriend to show his affection for them…. He was not planning to cause harassment, he was planning to contact them to rekindle the relationship.”
After pleading guilty to two counts of harassment, the Corporal has been demoted to Lance Corporal and handed a restraining order.
Replaced!