It was a relationship that began when a widowed dentist sought “company” after the death of his wife.
But after David Pagliero and dental nurse Sophie Colwill split, she embarked on a campaign of harassment against him that ended up in court, with him receiving a suspended prison sentence.
The obsessed 30-year-old installed a tracking device on Pagliero’s car and followed him.
He also bombarded his victim with up to 1,000 phone calls in a single day and even managed to gain entry to his home, waiting for him in his bedroom before fleeing through a window.
Colwill, who worked with Pagliero, 54, at Smile Dental Centre in Exeter, which calls itself The Gentle Dental Centre, pleaded guilty to harassment involving serious alarm or distress.
Dental nurse Sophie Colwill has pleaded guilty to embarking on a campaign of harassment against widowed dentist David Pagliero after their relationship ended.
But on Thursday she was spared jail time after Pagliero urged the district judge to be “kind” and not lock her up.
Prosecutor Alistair Verheijen told the court that Colwill carried out the harassment campaign in May.
Colwill followed the dentist in his car to several places and felt she was tracking him, Verheijen said.
The victim noticed that Colwill began showing up at the same places as him, such as a gas station when he went to buy gasoline.
He drove to a local business called Dart’s Farm near his home and after leaving his vehicle, he saw Colwill unlock his car and thought he must have a spare key.
Mr Pagliero was forced to leave his car in the car park because he believed she was following him.
When he returned to the vehicle, Colwill was there again, Verheijen said.
He added that when Mr Pagliero tried to speak to Colwill – who gave him the tracker – “she became very distressed and he said he had had a nervous breakdown”.
The court reported that the dentist returned home and “barricaded himself in his own bedroom.”
But Mr Verheijen said: ‘At 2am she found Colwill in her own bedroom, there without her permission.
‘She went to get her mobile phone and there was a tug-of-war.’
David Pagliero, who worked with Colwill at Smile Dental Centre in Exeter, said he was bombarded with phone calls and followed by the “obsessed” dental nurse.
Colwill then fled through a window.
Details of how Colwill gained entry to his former lover’s £1.35million five-bedroom detached home in Exton, Devon, were not revealed in court.
She also harassed him by phone, making 965 calls in one day and more than 1,000 calls the next day.
“The calls didn’t stop,” Verheijen said.
Mr Pagliero contacted police and Colwill, of Ottery St Mary, east of Exeter, was arrested but made no comment.
The court heard an audio recording of the moment she entered her bedroom, where the victim could be heard screaming “help, help, help”.
Mr Pagliero, whose late wife Sharon, the mother of his two teenage children, died in 2021, told the court he had loved Colwill’s company but the impact of his bullying had been enormous and “worn him down”.
He said he feared she might be hiding in bushes near his home in the village or lurking on back roads while he was driving his car.
In a victim impact statement, Mr Pagliero said Colwill had been a “companion” and was “tonic and enjoyable”.
But things changed and it became very traumatic for him.
He said he was concerned that she was constantly following him and hiding in the bushes by his driveway.
The dentist said he was on tenterhooks because “at some point you’ll be there.”
Colwill now faces possible disciplinary action from the General Dental Council (pictured)
But he implored the judge to be “kind to Sophie” and said he had tried to help her but now realised that was not possible.
Pagliero said he did not want revenge, adding: “I never wanted that, but his actions exhausted me.”
Peter Seigne, defending the defendant, said: “This is a serious case of harassment, in particular of entering his property.”
He said Colwill had been left “fragile” by the whole ordeal and was “incredibly distressed and finding it difficult to cope”, adding: “Her issues are significant.”
Colwill, who qualified as a dental nurse in 2021, cried in the dock as her barrister explained how the case could affect her career (as she faces possible disciplinary action from the General Dental Council) and her future intimate relationships.
She said Colwill found the end of the relationship very difficult and was incredibly distressed, but knows the relationship is over.
Colwill, who had a previous conviction for drink driving in 2020, was given a 20-week prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, after the district judge said his behaviour had a “major impact” on his victim.
She was also placed under a five-year restraining order prohibiting her from communicating with Mr. Pagliero or going to his home or dental office.
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