An Irishman who was stalked by his obsessed female ex-lover for a decade has opened up about how he was told to ‘sort it out himself’ before fleeing to the UK.
Filmmaker Jarlath Rice told new Virgin Media One documentary Stalked that the depressing ordeal was ‘very humiliating’. He previously said it left him on the brink of suicide.
He revealed people told him to ‘sort it out yourself’ and claimed that after calling the Garda ‘so many times’, he was told by a guard that if he contacted them again, they ‘would lock me up for the night — problem solved’.
Lina Tantash embarked on a ‘sinister and sustained’ campaign against Jarlath, bombarding him with messages and demanding that he see her after accusing him of breaking a 21-clause ‘love contract’.
They had a brief sexual relationship after first meeting one another in a Dublin café – and it was only after Jarlath fled to the UK that Tantash was sentenced for her crime in 2018. In Ireland, the offence of stalking only came into effect in November 2023.
Filmmaker Jarlath Rice (pictured) told new Virgin Media One documentary Stalked that the depressing ordeal was ‘very humiliating’. He previously said it left him on the brink of suicide
Speaking in the documentary, which aired on Monday, Jarlath recalled how he was left a note from Tantash asking if she could join him when at the café, reported The Irish Sun.
He said he thought this way of first meeting was ‘kind of cute and a bit funny’ and said he ‘didn’t get any crazy vibes’ from Tantash, who gave him her number.
But after weeks of seeing one another, he broke it off. When she continued to contact him he told her he no longer wanted a relationship with her and asked her to leave him alone.
But she refused saying he owed her more than 50,000 euro and even drew up a ‘love contract’ which stipulated he should stop denying they were in a relationship.
It also stated he should live with her three days a week, speak to her on the phone for at least 15 minutes every evening and be nice to her.
The Irishman received constant calls, messages and emails from Tantash – and despite switching his number repeatedly, she always managed to get hold of it.
She even hired a private detective to track him down and contacted his friends, family and work colleagues.
Jarlath claimed she threatened suicide and he even filmed her kicking in his door in 2012. Yet when he called the Garda, he was apparently brushed off.
Lina Tantash (pictured) embarked on a ‘sinister and sustained’ campaign against Jarlath, bombarding him with messages and demanding that he see her after accusing him of breaking a 21-clause ‘love contract’
‘I called the police so many times. The Guard said if I called again, he would lock me up for the night — problem solved,’ claimed Jarlath.
In April 2014, Jarlath and his girlfriend at the time were leaving his home when Tantash ‘physically attacked’ him and ‘screamed’ at his girlfriend.
‘She tore my shoulder socket out. I felt it pop and I was in agony. She tried to put me through a plate glass window. I did think she was going to kill me,’ he said.
Tantash was fined after she pled guilty to a Section 2 assault and threatening behaviour in a public place, reported the publication.
Jarlath desperately fought to escape Tantash’s attentions and eventually moved from Dublin to Brighton, East Sussex where he started work as a college tutor.
But Tantash, then a ‘highly-respected’ project manager at prestigious Trinity College Dublin, followed him from Dublin, taking up a new role in London.
Her campaign of harassment escalated after she suspected Jarlath had started a relationship with work colleague, Sarah Bolland.
Miss Bolland, who was not romantically involved with Mr Rice, was devastated by the abusive calls.
They had a brief sexual relationship after first meeting one another in a Dublin café – and it was only after Jarlath fled to the UK that Tantash was sentenced for her crime in 2018. In Ireland, the offence of stalking only came into effect in November 2023
But after reporting her behaviour to the police in England, where stalking has been a crime since 2012, Tantash was eventually arrested.
She was charged with one count of stalking Mr Rice between July 2015 – February 2018 and one count of stalking Miss Bolland. She was convicted after a trial at Brighton Magistrates’ Court.
Tantash was sentenced to four years in prison after she was convicted of two counts of stalking in 2018.
In a victim impact statement at the time of her sentencing, Jarlath said the campaign of stalking left him on the brink of suicide and had been in ‘despair’.
He said: ‘For over 10 years I’ve had to live with verbal, mental and physical abuse. The aggressive and abusive dismantling of my life has left me vulnerable, frightened and exhausted.’
He said: He had been ‘pushed deep into depression’ adding: ‘At my worst I have gone through periods of despair with suicide ideation.’
In her defence, Tantash said she came from a stable, upper middle class family but was suffering from a mental condition.
She claimed to have paid Jarlath’s sizeable debts and supported his career in return for a romantic commitment.
Miss Bolland said: ‘It’s a strange and terrible experience when someone psychologically harasses you like this. It’s an awful feeling. It’s astonishing how much it can impact your life, your mood, your thoughts.’
Teresa Mulrooney, defending, said: ‘Miss Tantash deeply regrets her behaviour and has come to understand the impact it has had.’
In 2018, police figures showed a third of stalking victims were male; 41 out of 46 police forces across the UK dealt with 1,800 stalking cases against men between 2014 and 2017.
But it is believed that in reality the figure was much higher as around 85 per cent of stalking victims do not report the incident to the police.
According to the Crime Survey for England and Wales, more than 1.2million people were stalked in the year ending March 2016, with 759,000 being women while the other 450,000 were men.
Figures obtained by BBC 5 Live Investigates found almost half (47 per cent) of stalking crimes reported by male victims were committed by other men.
The Freedom of Information request showed figures from 41 out of the 46 British police forces who were asked about stalking.
For help and support contact the Samaritans on 116 123 or go to samaritans.org
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