A 47-year-old man from Tonbridge, Kent, has avoided jail after subjecting the mother of his children to a nearly two-year campaign of harassment that culminated in him dressing as a clown and striking her front door with an axe. Pawel Rabel, a former bus driver, targeted his ex-partner of eight years despite a non-molestation order being in place, in a case that highlights how stalking and harassment offences can be treated even when a victim suffers serious psychological harm.

Rabel appeared at the mother-of-three's home in October 2025, growling and wearing a clown mask, before striking the door with what the judge concluded was a metal axe, leaving scratch marks; Rabel maintained it was a plastic toy. He was sentenced at Maidstone Crown Court to an 18-month community order and 90 hours of unpaid work after admitting three charges, including criminal damage and possessing an offensive weapon, though two further charges were not pursued. The victim said she suffered a mental breakdown and now has depression, while the court heard Rabel had also loitered near the children's school, attended his son's jujitsu class uninvited, and posted a video of an argument online between December 2023 and October 2025.