Former EFL and non league player James Hurst receives a two year custodial sentence after harassing his ex-girlfriend and her family.
As per Carl Jackson, a Court Reporter for Birmingham Mail, a bitter row relating to his child saw Hurst ‘bombarding’ his former ex with abusive calls, texts and emails.
Prosecutor Maninder Chaggar said that he and his ex had been together until November 2023, when they split up. They have a child together, and subject of ‘long and protracted’ child arrangement proceedings in the family court.
But she said that Hurst had been ‘unhappy’ with the terms of a court order which resulted in a number of ‘very serious incidents’.
Just last week, Birmingham Crown Court confirmed the 32 year old was guilty of stalking, two counts of harassment, two counts of sending false communications and one offence of breaching a non-molestation order.
Hurst, who played last played for Northern Premier League Premier Division side Ilkeston Town, has been held in HMP Birmingham. He appeared in court via video link last week and then represented himself this week.
Former WBA and Blues player jailed over ‘obsessive’ harassment of ex https://t.co/r12QYzu8dQ
— Black Country Live (@blackcountry) July 31, 2024
Hurst was reported to have made ‘false’ accusations regarding her brother-in-law’s farm business in a Tripadvisor review, saying a child had been attacked by an animal.
In January, Hurst sent ‘unwanted messages’ to her brother-in-law, ‘offering him money to facilitate contact’ with his child. The brother-in-law declined the offer, but Hurst persisted by warning him that he would be ‘knocking on your doors’ if he failed to respond to his messages.
The prosecutor added: “He took to Tripadvisor and left a false review in relation to his business. He gave a false review in relation to the staff and stated an incident took place on the farm involving an animal which attacked a child, which was false. It had a traumatic impact on [the brother-in-law].”
He also made several counter accusations against his ex, alleging that she had physically abused him and stolen money from his account.
He argued that it would not be in the public’s interest to send him to jail, feeling that media coverage would negatively impact his career, of which he felt was in the ‘twilight’ stage.
Hurst said: “Continued custody would end my career at my age. I have an offer from a club, I won’t name, ready to sign me only if I’m released before the season starts.
“I’m nearing the twilight of my career. I have sought help from the Professional Football Association (PFA) in relation to transitioning into a non-sporting job. I have found it difficult.”
He uses and planned to used a JCB vehicle in the future, having also been in the final year of an Open University degree course studying politics and economics.
He added: “I made my Premier League debut for West Bromwich Albion in 2011 and have made 350 appearances for various clubs, I will be signed by another club immediately on my release. I am at the twilight of my footballing career and any custodial sentence will end it for good.”
However as mentioned, just last week, had previously pleaded guilty to stalking without harm, two counts of harassment without violence, two offences of sending false communication with the intent to cause harm, and one charge of violating a non-molestation order.
Now he had been hit with a two-year custodial sentence and a five year restraining order with Prosecutor Harminder Jagger described how Hurst sent 500 unwanted phone calls, text messages and emails to his ex-partner, her mother and her brother-in-law since they broke up.
“On January 11, his ex-partner felt she had no option to go to Chesterfield Family Court and obtained a none-molestation order which was effective until January 2025. However, the defendant then began to send messages to his ex-partner’s mother who had been acting as a go-between between the two.
“They were controlling in nature and even sent a card saying he “was watching her like a hawk” which led to her installing cameras outside her house.”
She went on to say: “He then sent messages and emails calling her stupid and ‘she had the devil in the soul’. There were days where the complainant would receive up to 50 calls a day.”
Hurst was in the UAE and Bali, undergoing mental health treatment for depression, for the first three months of 2024 when he sent them, he however admitted he “had sent them under the influence of alcohol.”
Shropshire Star report that he gave the judge “18 reasons why I should not get a custodial sentence”, as one of which mentioned about how he had an offer of a new contract at a new unnamed club.
He also had positive character references from his former lovers and partners. But Judge Roderick Henderson said : “Though I accept in relation to previous relationships he has acted kindly and supportively after they had broken down. But the defendant showed obsessiveness in this situation.
“I have considered whether I could suspend this sentence, in which he articulately asked for in his submissions, but these offences do pass the custody threshold. The frequency and seriousness of this offending leads to a custodial sentence as court orders need to be followed and ex-partners and their family need to be protected. I see no other way to sending the message home to this defendant that his behaviour cannot mean the sentence be suspended.”
She said he had shown an ‘obsessive attitude’ and added: “Only immediate custody will serve to demonstrate that court orders need to be followed and ex partners and their family need to be protected. I see no other way of sending the message home to this defendant than imposing an immediate sentence.”
The harassment charge relates to a period of time between December 2023 to June 2024, in which Hurst was taken into custody, when on the 9th of December, he was ‘aggressive and verbally abusive’ towards his ex, in addition to committing a ‘minor assault’ against her and causing damage to her wing mirror when she arrived to pick up their child from his place.
A non-molestation order banning contact was given to James and his ex in January but ‘regrettably Mr Hurst didn’t heed the warning’ with it heard that he starting sending his ex girlfriend’s mother ‘controlling and aggressive’ messages.
He continued to send threatening to turn up at her address, and to send texts as well as make phone calls to his ex.
She described the contact as ‘abusive in nature’ with one message heard, James saying that she ‘had the devil in her soul’, called her a ‘weirdo’ and a ‘pyscho’, with court Hurst also asking his ex who she was sleeping with and if she wanted to see his penis.
He was arrested at an airport in June 2024 having just returned from holiday and was subsequently kept at HMP Birmingham on remand up to his sentencing hearing in July 2024.
In a victim impact statement, Hurst’s ex said: “I am scared after the comments from him. He said I live in a field with no-one around. He is unhinged. He does not listen about the law. I go to bed scared, I worry he will turn up and take our child. I know he has been abroad, he was in Bali, but when I do not hear from him I am scared he is travelling to me.
“Her mother and brother-in-law have also made statements concerning how scared they are.
“The defendant is 32 and has nine previous convictions for 19 offensives of similar threatening actions.”
Defending himself, Hurst said to the court: “I am a survivor of domestic abuse concerning my ex-partner. I did not know about the none-molestation order until I was arrested at the airport. I apologise for my actions under the influence of alcohol sending messages and cards from abroad. I was only trying to discuss the welfare of my son. References from my all ex-partners have something good to say.”
He alleged that his ex ‘physically and mentally’ abused him and even pressured him into changing his surname by Deed Poll to hers.
Of a number of alleged incidents, he accused his ex of chucking his suitcase off a balcony whilst on a holiday in Spain, she abused him five times in 48 hours at a Centre Parcs, and claims she stole up to £2,000 out of his bank account which he stated was being investigated separately.
Hurst insisted he only got in touch with his former partner to check on how their child was, but accepted it had been ‘foolish’ and was ‘indescribable sadness’ with his contact with the child being restricted, so flew out on a holiday to the United Arab Emirates and went into into a mental health retreat in Indonesia.
James tells court that while he described himself as ‘impatient and frustrated’, he did regret and say sorry for messages he sent whilst abroad adding that they were ‘shamefully under the influence of alcohol’. He did however say he was not aware the non-molestation order had been imposed until his arrest.
He has previously suffered issues in his playing career. In 2014, Torquay made the decision to suspend him from all football activities pending an investigation over an alleged incident on a night out in 2015, then got sent out on loan to Guiseley.
He joined Telford in 2016, and after receiving a red card in a match against Salford, he was involved in an argument with fans on social media, this then saw him get suspended by the club and a investigation into his behaviour, subsequently being transfer-listed and fined two weeks wages.
Back in 2018, he once told police that he’s a “I’m a millionaire”, “I’m a star”, and told the officer to ‘Google’ him when convicted of drink-driving and being drunk and disorderly in Wrexham, adding he’d “take the ban and pay the fine. I don’t give a f***”.
Then in June 2020, he was remanded in custody by a court in Glasgow after pleading guilty to acting in a threatening or abusive manner towards police officers following a domestic incident; he coughed in officers’ faces, told them he had Covid, used derogatory language to describe a female police officer and shouted anti-Scottish abuse. He was sentenced to 160 hours unpaid community service.
HURST’S CAREER:
Youth
2001–2008 – West Bromwich Albion
Senior
2008–2010 – Portsmouth
2010 → ÍBV (loan) – 17 games (1 goal)
2010–2013 – West Bromwich Albion – 3 game (0 goals)
2011 → Blackpool (loan) – 2 games (0 goals)
2011–2012 → Shrewsbury Town (loan) – 9 games (0 goals)
2012 → Chesterfield (loan) – 13 games (0 goals)
2012 → Birmingham City (loan) – 3 games (0 goals)
2013 → Shrewsbury Town (loan) – 4 games (0 goals)
2013 – Valur – 8 games (2 goals)
2013–2014 – Crawley Town – 21 games (0)
2014 → Northampton Town (loan) – 1 game (0 goals)
2014 – Valur – 9 games (0 goals)
2014–2015 – Hednesford Town – 35 games (3 goals)
2015–2016 – Torquay United – 17 games (7 goals)
2015–2016 → Guiseley (loan) – 21 games (4 goals)
2016–2017 – AFC Telford United – 14 games (0 goals)
2017 – Dover Athletic – 14 games (0 goals)
2017–2018 – Wrexham – 19 games (0 goals)
2018 – Nuneaton Borough – 5 games (0 goals)
2018 – Welling United – 3 games (0 goals)
2018–2019 – Sutton Coldfield Town
2019–2020 – Hednesford Town – 16 games (1 goal)
2020–2022 – Buxton – 24 games (2 goals)
2022–2023 – Tamworth – 21 games (5 goals)
2023– Ilkeston Town
International
2007 – England U16 – 2 games (0 goals)
2008–2009 – England U17 – 12 games (0 goals)
2011 – England U19 – 5 games (0 goals)
2011 – England U20 – 1 game (0 goals)

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