Scenario:

On the other side of town to Andy and Beth, Lisa and James have also just bought their first home together. They had been living in a very small bedsit so that they could save a deposit, so now they are overjoyed at being in their lovely new house. The only ‘cloud on the horizon’ is that the person who lives across the road (Pete) is rather strange. He is very proud of his gnome collection and has an outdoor light that he puts on when he wants to look at his collection when it is dark – the light is so bright that Lisa and James have joked that he must have pinched it from the local football stadium! It is not so funny, however, when Pete switches it on at weird times of night and the light floods their bedroom and wakes them up.

Pete also has a rather unpleasant habit of watching them in their house from his upstairs window. Lisa and James have talked it over and wonder whether he realises that what he is doing is rather intrusive, so James decides to have a word with him.

James manages to catch Pete on his drive and explains to Pete that he and Lisa are feeling a bit ‘watched’ and asks Pete if he could stop looking directly into their house. Pete seems genuinely surprised that this is their interpretation of his actions and tells James that he is actually looking at his gnomes, but he agrees to view them out of another window in future. James thanks Pete and thinks that will be the end of it.

Unfortunately, after a couple of days, Pete resumes his ‘gnome watching’ however, he now seems to be focusing on watching Lisa when she is home without James. Lisa tries to ignore Pete but over the next few weeks starts to feel increasingly jumpy. When she is home alone, Lisa feels vulnerable and tries to remain out of sight of Pete. But the situation is having an adverse effect on Lisa, making her feel like she is under siege and a prisoner in her own home. Lisa has mentioned to James that Pete is still being creepy, but eventually she admits to him that the situation is really causing her distress, especially as she is working from home and so feels trapped by the situation – she is afraid of what Pete might do in the future. James promises to have another word with Pete at the weekend.

However, the following evening James comes home from work to find Lisa sat in the dark crying inconsolably. She phoned in sick today because she couldn’t face working in her home office (at the front of the house) and she tells James that the Doctor has referred her to a therapist and prescribed anti-depressants. On hearing this, James becomes very upset and marches over to Pete’s house and rings the doorbell repeatedly. Eventually, Pete opens the door and James shouts at Pete that he is a ‘creepy peeping tom’ who should be locked up because he is obviously a pervert – Pete reacts very badly to James’s accusations and, without James realising what he is about to do, steps out onto the drive and punches James in the face. James is knocked backwards and trips, landing on the drive, briefly losing consciousness when he hits his head.

Luckily, the police turn up at just that moment (another neighbour called them) and are able to prevent the disagreement from escalating any further and call for medical assistance for James. The momentary loss of consciousness has not caused any significant harm, although James has a headache and a black eye.

With regard to James and Lisa, what offences could Pete be charged with?

APA

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