A middle-aged man who made lewd phone calls and sent obscene pictures and videos to nuns at five different convents, including an 84-year-old sister, has been found guilty of stalking yet again.
Daily Mail Australia confronted Martin Thomas Bothwell, 54, after he faced court over his latest offence – stalking a young woman with threatening texts, telling her he would grab her by the hair and drag her down the street.
Bothwell reacted angrily when approached by a reporter filming outside Penrith Local Court, demanding to know ‘what are you doing?’, before shoving his hand into the camera and trying to cover his face as he fled.
His latest crime occurred just six months after police warned a court that if he avoided jail for his campaign of harassment against the nuns, he would offend again.
Bothwell had sexually harassed nuns at Catholic orders in Sydney, Tasmania and Victoria during a period of two-and-a-half years.
Calling himself ‘Danny Conner’ and boasting that he possessed extremely large genitalia, he would make phone calls to the convents – some in the middle of the night – and make vile sexual suggestions while grunting and breathing heavily.
Martin Bothwell, 54, outside Penrith court on Tuesday where he faced court over harassing a woman with six months after he avoided jail for a 2.5 year campaign of terror ‘sexting’ nuns
Bothwell called nuns and told them he was a teenager named Danny and that he had huge genitalia that ‘God has blessed me with’ and sent them images of male private parts
In his latest offence, Bothwell texted a female housing officer and threatened to throw her out his apartment (above) window and ‘drag her by the hair down the street’
In one June 2021 call to the Sisters of St Joseph By The Sea, at Williamstown in Victoria, an 84-year-old sister answered and Bothwell made a sexual remark before she hung up the phone.
He texted back six minutes later, sending an image of male genitalia, and followed up by texting the words: ‘Dearest Sr (her name) I’m Danny, I’m 17 years old and God has blessed me with a (obscene, graphic description of male manhood)’.
Bothwell avoided jail when sentenced for these and other crimes in February last year, and was instead given a two-and-a-half year community corrections order.
While still subject to that order, in August and September 2022, Bothwell stalked and intimidated a woman who was involved in housing him in specialist accommodation in the western Sydney suburb of Jamisontown.
It came after the woman texted Bothwell a notice regarding an inspection of his property on August 22.
Bothwell sent the woman threatening texts after she booked a routine property inspection of the specialised accommodation he has been housed in since his previous conviction
Bothwell, 54, has avoided jail for harassing and intimidating women including several nuns, despite police warning that he would not stop offending unless he was locked up
In one call to the Sisters of St Joseph By The Sea, at Williamstown in Victoria (above), on June 20 last year, an 84-year-old sister answered and Bothwell made a sexual remark
Bothwell responded by sending the woman a series of texts, the first at 4.50pm, writing: ‘(Woman’s name) you trouble maker, just u f***ing try opening my door with me answering, i’ll f***ing throw you clean out the window.’
At 4.51pm, he sent another text: ‘You f***ing dare try and break in, i’ll f***ing bash u.’
At 5.20pm, Bothwell texted: ‘You f***ing dare break in to my private apartment, I’ll grab you by the hair and drag you down the street.’
The victim reported the texts to police, who interviewed him last October.
He admitted to police he had sent the messages and has pleaded guilty.
Bothwell’s earlier harassment of nuns included several bizarre remarks, the court heard last year, such as when he texted the 84-year-old sister: ‘You know mum and I know you can call her. Say I’m sorry, I’ll try very hard not to leave my door open…’
In September 2020, Bothwell phoned a nun at the Our Lady of the Sacred Heart convent in Kensington (above) around 2.35am and told her he was a 17-year-old male named Danny
Bothwell, who police arrested last August when he was staying at the Matthew Talbot Hostel for homeless men (above), repeatedly texted or called nuns boasting about his genitals
Martin Bothwell called the Carmelite Monastery (above) in Launceston, Tasmania, and told a 45-year-old nun ‘Hi sister, it’s Danny’ and made an obscene request
He then made vile sexual suggestions and asked her: ‘Can I come and visit you?’
Police said 20 phone calls were made to the convent over the next 16 days with sexually explicit suggestions accompanied by heavy breathing.
The elderly sister said the texts and calls made her feel ‘stressed, upset, frustrated’.
In August 2021, Bothwell called a 45-year-old nun at the Sisters of Carmelite Monastery in Launceston, Tasmania, and made an obscene request.
He breathed heavily and grunted before hanging up.
In September 2020, he phoned a nun at the Our Lady of the Sacred Heart convent in Kensington around 2.35am and told her he was a 17-year-old male named Danny, and made repeated references to the large size of his genitalia.
Martin Bothwell leaves Penrith Court on Tuesday after facing a hearing for harassing and stalking a woman via texts less than a year after he was sentenced for sexually stalking nuns
Bothwell emailed the editor of an online journal of the Sisters of the Good Samaritan Foundation at Glebe (above) and made lengthy suggestions in obscene detail
When detectives traced Martin Bothwell to Matthew Talbot Hostel (above) they were not confident he wouldn’t offend again, saying he should be blocked from access to mobiles and religious organisations
The following month, Bothwell emailed the editor of an online journal of the Sisters of the Good Samaritan Foundation at Glebe and made lengthy suggestions in obscene detail.
Less than half an hour later he called the same convent and gave another graphic account of his manhood to a different woman.
In December 2020, he made a similar phone call to a nun at the Sisters of St Joseph at Picton, in western Sydney, and then sent lewd texts with obscene images to the same woman.
Between late September and early December 2020, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart at Kensington received 74 calls, which were answered by three different religious sisters.
When police began investigating the calls the calls last year, they contacted Bothwell, who did not have a permanent address at the time.
They arrested him at the Matthew Talbot Hostel for homeless men and he later told them he was ’embarrassed and ashamed’ about the calls.
However, when Bothwell was granted bail, police expressed their concern he would continue to commit similar offences.
Detectives wanted to mitigate that risk by having him forced to surrender SIM cards and mobile phones and being banned from contacting any religious organisation other than the homeless hostel.
It was after that sentencing hearing last February that Bothwell moved to Jamisontown where he committed the more recent harassment offences.
The Downing Centre Local Court heard last year that Bothwell had bipolar disorder suffered delusions and hallucinations, and the offences had been committed under heavy alcohol and drug use, ‘including crystal meth’.
He was convicted of five counts of use carriage service to menace, harass or offend and recommended for treatment with psychotic medication.
He remains on a community corrections order until 2024.
