A radio host who threatened a couple, calling them "cowards", has been convicted of two counts of intimidation after facing Orange Local Court on Wednesday.
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Neil Gill, 48, pleaded guilty to intimidating a man and woman following a break-down in a lengthy text exchange.
According to information tendered to the court, Gill went to the woman's house at 10am on November 21, 2020, yelling and banging on the woman's door.
He was quoted as yelling "come out you f***ing cowards, come out and face me".
The couple stayed inside fearing the man would be assaulted and Gill left after five to 10 minutes.
However, he continued to message the woman and make allegations about the man, who reported Gill to police on November 23.
Magistrate David Day was presented with 70 pages of text messages when Gill appeared for sentencing on Wednesday.
"There's not a lot to be concerned about other than the sheer volume after the lady said stop," Mr Day said.
He said Gill had no prior convictions but there were children present during the text exchange and they could have been affected by the recipient's reactions.
"He's a person who's well regarded in the community and the more serious of the two charges is the one concerning the visit to the house," Mr Day said.
Mr Day considered other sentencing options, including a two-year non-conviction bond, before he convicted Gill with no further penalty.
He said general deterrence was needed for people to understand that such behaviour was unacceptable.
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"There's a need to send a clear message to the community that this conduct should not be tolerated," Mr Day said.
Solicitor Mason Manwaring urged Mr Day not to convict Gill and said he is a very social person who is involved in several charities.
Mr Manwaring said the woman also provoked him and sent "vile, disgusting," text messages before Gill went to her house.
"My client is here to take responsibility for his actions," Mr Manwaring said.
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