EX-FOOTBALLER STALKED WOMAN “LOST HIS CAREER”
Tom Williamson used to play for Carlton, but he quit after he got in trouble with the law. He stalked and bothered a woman who did not want to talk to him. Williamson left The Blues in 2022 because the police were looking into his bad actions. He was 24 years old and had played 44 games in the AFL. The police charged him with serious crimes, like stalking a woman with phone calls and messages from new Instagram and TikTok accounts. She kept blocking him, but he did not stop. The police said he stalked the woman from July to October 2022 to make her scared or hurt. He also used a phone service to harass her. He called her 13 times and texted her twice in 10 days. He admitted to all the charges in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court last week. The court heard that he now works at Hopkins Correctional Centre, a prison in Ararat. He does maintenance work there. He did not get a conviction because Magistrate Cecily Hollingsworth saw that he tried to improve himself. He went to a 12-week program and counselling for men who behave badly. They helped him with his “communication issues” and his current relationship. Ms Hollingsworth said: "You did a very bad thing and you lost your career because of that. You are lucky. You have friends and family who support you and you have done counselling and a program for men.
She gave him a 12-month bond and told him to give $2000 to the court fund. The fund gives money to charities like the Salvation Army. She told him that he would face worse punishment if he did something bad again in the next year. “You know what prison life is like. You could end up in jail (if you reoffend),” she said.
Williamson was picked 61st in the 2016 AFL draft. He said in an interview this month that he left AFL to take care of his mental health.
He now plays and coaches for the Ararat Rats in his hometown. Ms Hollingsworth asked him to share what he learned from the program with other young men in his area, especially the football club.