Man jailed for stalking Jackie ‘O’ Henderson has huge win in court

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The man jailed for stalking former radio queen Jackie ‘O’ Henderson has had a huge win in court.

David Gourlay successfully won a case against his employer this week after a letter of resignation he sent was determined to be invalid because he was experiencing significant mental distress at the time.

According to The Courier Mail, 38-year-old Gourlay resigned from his job at Hutchison Ports’ Sydney container terminal. He sent his resignation letter to the HR department at 4:31 a.m. on September 26, 2024.

I couldn’t believe it when I heard they’d accepted his resignation – 11:02 AM, can you imagine?! It felt so final. But then, then, he sent an email! He said he’d changed his mind! Seriously, changed his mind about leaving! I was a mess, going from heartbroken to completely ecstatic in like, an hour. It was insane!

According to the report, Gourlay told the Fair Work Commission he hadn’t meant to resign and was experiencing paranoid delusions when he initially submitted his resignation.

Gourlay hadn’t told his employer about any mental health struggles, but coworkers raised concerns with management on the day he sent the email, later that afternoon.

Honestly, I was furious when I heard Hutchison wouldn’t let Gourlay take back his resignation! The Maritime Union fought so hard, officially asking them to just let him change his mind, but Hutchison just flat-out refused. It was unbelievable! They just wouldn’t budge, and I couldn’t understand why they were being so stubborn.

Gourlay then took his case to the Fair Work Commission, asking to be reinstated in his old job.

I was really disappointed to learn that Commissioner Sloan denied the request. Even though he acknowledged Mr. Gourlay was clearly very confused when he sent that email, the ruling last March was that it wasn’t considered a dismissal. It just felt like the situation wasn’t fully acknowledged, you know?

The case went back to a higher court review in December, which determined that Judge Sloan had made a mistake in his original ruling. This was because he didn’t take into account what happened after the resignation email was approved.

The bench did not make a ruling on the case, but rather passed it back to Sloan to reconsider.

Okay, so you won’t BELIEVE this! Sloan totally flipped! After all this time, he finally said Hutchison should have checked on Gourlay properly. I mean, it’s about time, right? I’ve been saying it all along – Hutchison didn’t do enough, and now Sloan agrees! It’s a huge win, honestly. I’m so relieved!

Mr. Gourlay worked for nearly eight years, and while there were some problems during his employment, it was unfair for Hutchison Ports to immediately accept his resignation as final, according to Sloan.

Even though the decision was overturned, Sloan still worried about whether Gourlay was ready to return to work. He said he didn’t have enough information to decide if Gourlay should be reinstated, so he scheduled another hearing to gather more details.

It comes after Gourlay was sentenced to 16 months in prison for stalking Henderson in December.

For five months, he bombarded her with up to 2,000 Instagram direct messages. These messages often came quickly one after another and included personal information about her.

In the delusional narrative he constructed, Gourlay even claimed the pair shared a child. 

Okay, so I’ve been following this case, and it’s just… heartbreaking. Apparently, poor Mr. Gourlay has this really serious mental illness – schizoaffective disorder with bipolar stuff going on. And the court heard that his whole thing with Ms. Henderson? It wasn’t some creepy obsession, but actually came from these incredibly powerful delusions he was experiencing. It’s just so sad to think he wasn’t himself at all when he believed they were together. I feel so bad for him, honestly.

Trudie Cameron, the defendant’s lawyer, informed the court that her client had been facing serious difficulties and hadn’t been consistently taking his medication as prescribed.

He had reported hallucinations and paranoia in the period leading up to the barrage of messages.

A professional evaluation showed a clear connection between his actions and his mental health. The court learned that the wrongdoing happened because he was experiencing a delusion at the time.

Cameron stated that, when stabilised on medication, Gourlay functions well within the community. 

She argued he should serve his sentence through community service, highlighting his genuine regret and understanding of how his actions impacted Henderson.

However, the prosecution argued that the 38-year-old should go to jail, calling the sexual messages disgusting and emphasizing the importance of deterring others from similar behavior.

Magistrate Theo Tsavdaridis stated the messages were deeply troubling and that Henderson had a valid reason to fear for her family’s safety when Gourlay showed up near her house.

He also pointed out that Gourlay had a significant criminal record and was already completing two community service sentences when the crime occurred.

Gourlay was sentenced to 16 months in prison, with a non-parole period of eight months. 

Taking into account time already served, he will be eligible for parole in March.

The court also issued a five-year restraining order, forbidding him from contacting Henderson directly, but allowing communication through their lawyers.

The court order, valid until 2030, prevents him from attacking, intimidating, following, or harassing the radio host or anyone she lives with.

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2026-04-22 03:19