COHEN: OCCUPATIONAL THERAPIST BOMBARDED EX WITH UNWANTED CALLS

An occupational therapist pushed a lit cigarette through her ex-husband’s letterbox and bombarded him with unwanted phone calls, a hearing was told.

Elizabeth Cohen jumped from the bathroom window of her home when police arrived to arrest her, the Health Professions Council heard.

She admitted criminal damage in August 2010 and was given a restraining order banning her from contacting her estranged partner David Cohen.

But Mr Cohen received drunken phone calls from his ex-wife, demanding to speak about their children.

Mrs Cohen admitted breaching the restraining order at a further hearing before Colchester Magistrates in October and was fined £300.

She is now appearing before the HPC who will decide whether she should be allowed to continue in her profession.

Lucy Alicea, for the HPC, told the panel Mr Cohen had returned to his home in Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, on July 23 to find burn marks on his doormat.

‘He opened his front door and noticed a cigarette butt on the front door mat,’ she said.

‘It had a cone of ash at the end and he believed it was still lit when it went through.

‘Fortunately, it seems it did not do any more damage than to cause a burn mark in the doormat.’

Three months later, on October 19 and after the restraining order had been imposed, Mr Cohen began receiving phone calls from a private number.

‘When he answered, the caller identified herself as Lizzy,’ said Miss Alicea.

‘She said she wished to speak with him about their children.

‘In her statement, she mentions the amount of alcohol she had drunk on the night in question and says she called her ex-partner but knew she was not supposed to.’

When Pc Richard Bunce went to her house about the matters, Cohen locked herself in the bathroom before throwing herself from the window, she added.

‘The conviction for damage in itself may not be considered very serious,’ said Miss Alicea.

‘But it is serious when you looking at the circumstances, which relate to her pushing a lit cigarette through the letterbox.

‘She has said she knew she was not supposed to call her ex-partner and each time he spoke to her he said she should not speak to him, but she continued to call.

‘This demonstrates she has not learned her lesson from the first conviction.’

Mrs Cohen gave her evidence in private because of concerns about her health and personal circumstances.

But the panel was told she has undergone treatment for alcohol problems and is still having counselling for emotional difficulties.

The hearing was adjourned until October 14, when the panel will reconvene to decide whether Mrs Cohen should be allowed to continue in her profession without restrictions.
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