South Australian stalker abandons appeal in Warrnambool County Court

Nicola Faiello, 45, of South Australia, pleaded guilty to offences in Warrnambool Magistrates Court and on September 15 was jailed for 18 months.

The man made his victims' lives "nothing less than a living hell" when he repeatedly stalked and harassed them after his ex-partner had fled to Warrnambool.

Faiello logged into her personal accounts, posting revenge porn to social media platforms she used to promote her business, disconnected her electricity, altered flight plans on the day of an interstate holiday and stashed illegal steroids in her car.

Faiello also accessed the woman's VicRoads and Netflix accounts, and made multiple attempts to book beauty services through her business, using fake names in order to prohibit her from obtaining jobs.

He shared personal information online about the victim's sister and rang her numerous times while she was at work and played a recording of a dog barking.

Faiello was ordered to serve a non-parole period of 10 months.

He appealed against the severity of his sentence in Warrnambool County Court on Tuesday, October 17.

Judge Rosemary Carlin received defence submissions prior to the appeal hearing.

The court heard Faiello suffered a medical issue and was unable to obtain the appropriate medication, manage his diet, or undergo surgery to treat the condition while in custody.

A barrister for the man said jail was therefore more burdensome than someone in good health.

Judge Carlin said she was troubled by two things - that Faiello was sentenced to jail with a limited criminal history, and that the offending could only be described as "appalling".

"It really was calculated to do as much harm as the appellant could to his victims," she said.

"I am struggling with those two things."

But the judge said she had read the defence submissions very carefully and she was obligated to warn Faiello that he may receive a higher jail sentence on appeal.

The appeal was abandoned and Faiello was returned to custody to serve the remainder of his sentence.

During the magistrates' court hearing, the victim said there was very little in her life that had not been negatively affected.

"It feels like he is a cancer that no matter what treatment I undergo he will continue to grow and never go away, no matter the lengths I go to, to remove him from my life," she said.

"It just keeps reappearing, insidious and malignant. It has affected every part of my lifestyle."

The woman has since called for a serious offender registry to stop women walking into the hands of a violent partner.

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