A serial stalker has been jailed after he locked his ex girlfriend in his flat and slashed her clothes with scissors when she ended their relationship.
Jack Knapman met the 18-year-old student through an online dating site but she had no idea he had either attacked or stalked his four previous partners.
She started a four-month relationship in which he became so jealous and controlling he forced her to give up her job working at a bar.
He sent her abusive and threatening texts and when she ended their relationship he followed her to college and intercepted her on the bus home.
He asked her to pick up his things from his bedsit but then locked her inside and threatened her with a pair of scissors, Exeter Crown Court was told.
Knapman, aged 25, of Orchard Drive, Kingskerswell, admitted instilling the fear of violence through stalking and was jailed for 27 months by Recorder Mr Kevin de Haan, QC.
He told him: "The worrying feature of this case is the complete lack of empathy for the victim. You cannot see it from her point of view.
"This is a very serious case. You pursued your former girlfriend both from a distance using text messages and face to face. What is extremely bad is that you threatened her with scissors and started to cut at her clothing.
"You have a very bad record going back to when you were a youth for actual violence against former girlfriends."
Mr Nigel Wraith, prosecuting, said victim Natasha Senior is an 18-year-old student who met Knapman through an internet dating site in May last year and started going out with him.
He said: "It was a perfectly normal relationship for the first couple of months but he started to become jealous and possessive and constantly checked her phone to see who she was contacting.
"This sometimes slipped into violence in which he would slap her face. She had a job at a takeaway restaurant but he was jealous of her having late-night shifts and forced her to give up work."
Mr Wraith said she ended the relationship in September, but Knapman responded with texts threatening her and her family with violence. He told her he would put her in a coma.
She agreed to go back to his bedsit in Norman Road, Paignton, to collect her belongings but took a friend with her.
When they arrived Knapman insisted the friend stay outside and then locked Miss Senior in and waved a pair of scissors in her face before using them to slash her coat.
Mr Wraith said: "She thought he was going to kill her and was scared and petrified, but he waited a minute or two before putting the scissors down without harming her."
He threatened to take an overdose and when police were called he tried to set his dog on them but the pet remained calm.
Knapman has a record of violence and harassment against four previous partners going back six years. He has four convictions for battery, has served a two-year sentence for assault, and has also been jailed for harassment.
Mr William Parkhill, defending, said Knapman is far more immature than his age would suggest and all his offending has been caused by his inability to cope with relationships.
He said: "He has acknowledged his wrong doing and knows he needs to sort out his problems. He needs to sort out his life and his head."
