I was stalked by my obsessed female ex-lover for 10 years, but was told to deal with it myself – male victims are not taken seriously

An Irishman who was stalked for a decade by his obsessed female ex-lover has told how he was told to 'deal with it himself' before fleeing to Britain.

Filmmaker Jarlath Rice told Virgin Media One's new documentary Stalked that the depressing ordeal was 'very humiliating'. He previously said it brought him to the brink of suicide.

He revealed that people told him to “sort it out himself” and claimed that after calling the Garda “so many times” he was told by a security guard that if he contacted them again they would “lock me up for the night – problem solved '.

Lina Tantash began a “sinister and sustained” campaign against Jarlath, bombarding him with messages and demanding he see her after accusing him of breaking a 21-clause “love contract”.

They had a brief sexual relationship after first meeting in a Dublin cafe – and it was only after Jarlath fled to Britain that Tantash was convicted of her crime in 2018. In Ireland, the crime of stalking did not come into force until November 2023. .

In the documentary, which aired on Monday, Jarlath recalled leaving a note from Tantash asking if she could go to the cafe with him. The Irish sun.

He said he found this way of first meeting “kind of cute and a bit funny” and that he “didn't get any funny feelings” from Tantash, who gave him her number.

But after seeing each other for weeks, he broke it off. When she continued to contact him, he told her he no longer wanted a relationship with her and asked her to leave him alone.

But she refused to say he owed her more than €50,000 and even drew up a 'love contract' stating he had to stop denying they were in a relationship.

It also said he had to live with her three days a week, speak to her on the phone for at least 15 minutes every evening and be nice to her.

The Irishman constantly received calls, messages and emails from Tantash – and despite repeatedly changing numbers, she always managed to get hold of it.

She even hired a private investigator to track him down and contacted his friends, family and colleagues.

Jarlath claimed she threatened suicide and he even filmed her kicking in his door in 2012. But when he called the Garda he was apparently waved away.

'I called the police so many times. The guard said if I called again he would lock me up overnight – the problem was solved,” Jarlath claimed.

In April 2014, Jarlath and his then-girlfriend were leaving his home when Tantash 'physically attacked' him and 'yelled' at his girlfriend.

'She tore out my shoulder socket. I felt it pop and I was in pain. She tried to stab me through a glass window. “I really thought she was going to kill me,” he said.

Tantash was fined after pleading guilty to a Section 2 assault charge and threatening behavior in a public place, the publication reported.

Jarlath fought desperately to escape Tantash's attention and eventually moved from Dublin to Brighton, East Sussex, where he began working as a lecturer at a university.

But Tantash, then a 'highly respected' project manager at the prestigious Trinity College Dublin, followed him from Dublin and took up a new role in London.

Her campaign of intimidation escalated after she suspected Jarlath had started a relationship with colleague Sarah Bolland.

Miss Bolland, who had no relationship with Mr Rice, was devastated by the abusive phone calls.

But after reporting her behavior to police in England, where stalking has been a crime since 2012, Tantash was eventually arrested.

She was charged with one count of stalking Mr Rice between July 2015 and February 2018 and one count of stalking Miss Bolland. She was convicted after a trial at Brighton Magistrates' Court.

Tantash was sentenced to four years in prison after being convicted of two counts of stalking in 2018.

In a victim impact statement at the time of her sentencing, Jarlath said the campaign of stalking had left him on the brink of suicide and in 'despair'.

He said: 'For over a decade I have had to live with verbal, mental and physical abuse. The aggressive and abusive dismantling of my life has left me vulnerable, scared and exhausted.”

He said: “He had been 'pushed deep into depression', adding: 'At worst I went through periods of despair with thoughts of suicide.'

In her defense, Tantash said she came from a stable, upper-middle class family but suffered from mental illness.

She claimed to have paid Jarlath's significant debts and supported his career in exchange for a romantic commitment.

Ms Bolland said: 'It's a strange and terrible experience when someone harasses you so psychologically. It's a terrible feeling. It's amazing how much impact it can have on your life, your mood, your thoughts.”

Teresa Mulrooney, defending, said: 'Miss Tantash deeply regrets her behavior and has come to understand its impact.'

In 2018, police figures showed that a third of stalking victims were male; Between 2014 and 2017, 41 of Britain's 46 police forces dealt with 1,800 cases of stalking against men.

But it is believed that this figure was actually much higher, as around 85 percent of stalking victims do not report the incident to the police.

According to the Crime Survey for England and Wales, more than 1.2 million people were stalked in the year ending March 2016, of which 759,000 were women and the remaining 450,000 were men.

Figures obtained by BBC 5 Live investigates found that nearly half (47 percent) of stalking crimes reported by male victims were committed by other men.

The Freedom of Information request showed figures from 41 of 46 British police forces questioned about stalking.

For help and support, contact the Samaritans on 116 123 or visit samaritans.org