A woman distraught over losing contact with her two children after their adoption launched a chilling threat campaign against the adoption agency.
Sarah Ratcliffe, who has a prior conviction for holding a public worker at knife point, threatened to stab agency employees to death and called them "child robbers."
His "torrent of threats" included saying that he would stab the employee, Sharon Redup, "slowly in the eye, then [cut her] Take your fingers off, then he stabs you in the chest and watch you bleed out while having so much fun. "
READ MORE: Girl Told Dad He Was A 'Dangerous' Pedophile At The Supermarket
Her threats led the Northwest agency, Together For Adoption, to employ a security guard at its Warrington facility, after she too threatened to show up with a kitchen knife saying, "The first person you see will be stabbed."
Liverpool Crown Court Today he was told that Ratcliffe, 40, has an emotionally unstable personality disorder and can act impulsively.
But a judge was told that since her behavior in November and December 2019, her mental health has improved and re-incarceration would hamper her progress.
Liverpool courts are some of the busiest in the UK, with a wide variety of cases heard each week.
For a behind-the-scenes look at how they work and the moments that aren't part of our stories, sign up for our free weekly Echo Court Files newsletter, written by court reporters Neil Docking and Lauren Wise.
How do I sign up?
It is free, easy and very fast.
- First alone click this link to our newsletter subscription center.
- Once you're there, put your email address where it says at the top, then click the Echo Court Files button. Other newsletters are also available if you wish.
- When you've made your choice, hit the Save Changes button at the bottom.
Consequently, Registrar Ian Unsworth, QC, imposed a two-year community order and told him to complete 35 days of rehab activities. He also imposed a five-year restraining order that prohibited him from communicating with the agency except in writing.
He said: "For about a week you subjected them to a torrent of threats of a very disturbing nature."
Ratcliffe, of Britannic Road, Kensington, had pleaded guilty to sending malicious electronic communications and threatening death.
Accuser Joanne Maxwell had told the court that the crimes began after the adoptive parents of her two children, who are now 13 and 15, stopped sending communications. She texted an agency employee threatening her with death and called her "a child thief."
The next day, November 13, she texted another employee, Sharon Redrup, saying they would kill a couple of employees and that more threatening text messages would be received later in the week.
She threatened: "Your family robbers are dead, I'll make sure of that ... You know where my children are, you damn baddies."
In another message, Ratcliffe said he would bring a knife to the agency's offices, saying, "I'll see you come out and look for you."
Ms. Maxwell said police were contacted and things calmed down until December, when she made the text message threat to stab a worker in the eye, followed by other threatening text messages.
Ratcliffe said: โYou are part of the bitch that took my son from him. I'll make sure someone is fatally stabbed. I assure you that I am capable of doing it and I will do it. "
In a victim impact statement, Sharon Redrup said they had to employ a security guard as they were in separate facilities.
She said: "Although we expected them to be empty threats, we couldn't be sure."
The court heard that Ratcliffe has 10 prior convictions for 13 offenses, including three for sending malicious communications and also possessing a sharp item and criminal mischief.
She received a six-month suspended sentence in 2016 after holding a worker at knife point and after she violated the terms of the order, this was triggered and she was put behind bars.
Anthony O'Donohoe, defender, said she had been suffering from a mental disorder at the time and noted that the crimes occurred some time ago.
Registrar Unsworth told him that a pre-sentencing report spoke of "the many difficulties you sadly have."
At the time of the crimes, it was clear that he suffered from a mental disorder with a marked tendency to act impulsively. When communication between her and her children through their adoptive parents stopped "it was a source of great distress for you," she said.
He added: "For about a week he subjected them to a torrent of threats of a very worrying nature and also made a death threat on December 17."
He said there was evidence that while in prison his mental well-being had suffered drastically "and you had to pick up the pieces on your release."
The judge added that he felt that the defendant was "now in a much better place" and said that imprisoning her today would undo all her improvements, which would not benefit her or society.
She added that she is now committing to the probation service that will help her and there is a realistic prospect of her rehabilitation.
Receive newsletters with the latest news, sports and news from the Liverpool ECHO by registering here
