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Justin Lee Collins Guilty of Harassing Ex-Partner

Justin Lee Collins Guilty of Harassing Ex-Partner

The TV presenter Justin Lee Collins has been found guilty of harassing his former girlfriend by a jury at St Albans Crown Court.

Collins was sentenced to carry out 140-hours unpaid work within the next 18 months and pay £3,500 in prosecution costs.

Throughout the ten-day trial, Collins, from Kew in South West London, had denied the charge of putting a person in fear of violence by harassment.

His former girlfriend Anna Larke, 38, claimed Collins subjected her to different levels of verbal and physical abuse.

The court heard details of the couple's tempestuous relationship in which they frequently fell out and argued.

She said that Collins made her write down in a notebook graphic details of all her previous sexual encounters.

Collins claimed he didn't want to write the details down but Ms Larke dictated them to him and he believed it may have been a therapeutic exercise for her. He described Ms Larke, a recovering alcoholic, as obsessive, jealous and possessive.

The couple had lived together from January to July last year, a 7-month relationship which Collins described as "absolute hell".

He said: "I thought she loved me and was crazy about me," he said "But it turned out only the second part was true."

Collins denied claims that he made her come off social networking websites, sleep facing him and throw away DVDs because they featured actors she found attractive.

Collins also told the court he had only ever slapped Ms Larke to calm her down when she was self-harming.

In sentencing Collins, the judge told him: "This is humbling work for somebody who lives a prominent public life but the very humility that the manual work should induce will make you pause and think about what you have done.

"You've had a successful career and led up to this time a decent life. It would have been very much to your credit if you had had the courage to admit your violence against Ms Larke and for that you will pay the price."