A FORMER postman who sent sexually explicit messages to celebrities could face up to five years in prison if he breaks a new restraining order.

In February, Mark Taylor admitted breaching an order by sending packages to GMTV presenter Penny Smith.

The 47-year-old, who had been in custody, appeared for sentence at Oxford Crown Court yesterday and was freed by Judge Mary Jane Mowat after psychiatrists concluded he could be suffering from Asperger’s Syndrome.

But she warned Taylor he would face up to five years in jail if he breached the new restraining order she imposed.

The court heard earlier that envelopes sent to Miss Smith in September last year were covered in images of her and references to sexual acts were written on them. The packets were intercepted by the Post Office before they arrived.

Taylor, of Arlington Drive, Marston, had previously been banned from contacting stars including Meg Ryan, Jennifer Aniston, Kylie Minogue, Dannii Minogue, Lily Allen and Fearne Cotton.

He had been made the subject of an indefinite restraining order for sending Big Brother winner Kate Lawler sexually explicit mail, and was arrested by police at his home in November.

Yesterday Clare Tucker, prosecuting, told the court that the defendant had also sent a package to a former air hostess, whose name and address he knew because she lived on his delivery round when he was a postman.

She said: “It was unnerving and contained odd contents, but that is not going to be subject to a further prosecution or further investigation because the woman does not want it to be.”

Judge Mowat decided that a Thames Valley Sexual Offenders’ programme would not be suitable for Taylor.

And she told the defendant: “Psychiatrists have concluded that in all likelihood you suffer from Asperger’s Syndrome, which makes you incapable of appreciating the feelings of others, or the effects of your actions on others, and can not understand that people will be frightened or disconcerted by them.

“Your approaches are designed to achieve an intimacy with these celebrities, who you quite irrationally believe might return your affections.

“It is unlikely that you are a sexual threat to the people you harass, and I hope that is some comfort to them.”

Judge Mowat issued a new and indefinite restraining order which banned Taylor from “sending messages by any means to persons with a public profile in the media or entertainment”.

It replaces a restraining order first imposed at Bromley Magistrates’ Court.Breaches “without reasonable excuse” will result in a maximum prison sentence of five years, Judge Mowat added.

She also said Taylor must serve a community order with a condition of residence at Clarks Row bail hostel in Oxford. Taylor also has to abide by the conditions of a 12-month supervision order, maintaining contact with his probation officer and undergoing any treatment programmes that are recommended.

Dc Simon Beaton, of Thames Valley Police, said: “People have the right to enjoy the comfort of their own home without this kind of invasion and we will take steps to pursue such individuals and curtail this activity.”

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