A 44-year-old Sudbury man accused of stalking two young women had threatened to rape one of them, it has been alleged.

James O’Reilly approached one of the alleged victims in Sudbury and put his arm round her before following her into a shop, Ipswich Crown Court heard.

After she left the shop, he then pulled her close before allegedly threatening to rape her, said Sheilagh Davies, prosecuting.

O’Reilly had also allegedly followed another woman in Sudbury and asked her if she had a boyfriend before asking her go to his house.

A month later he had turned up at her home while she was there on her own. When she shut the door because she was scared he said: “You shouldn’t have done that” and appeared to be angry.

Her father later examined doorbell footage and discovered O’Reilly had returned to the house at night and could be seen looking through windows.

The police were contacted and an officer went to O’Reilly’s address and warned him about his behaviour.

Miss Davies said that, before following the second young woman into a shop, O’Reilly allegedly made a sexual comment to her.

After following her out of the shop he’d allegedly grabbed hold of her and said: “I’ll rape you”.

The woman saw O’Reilly a month later as she was walking to work and had a panic attack and ran home before getting a taxi to work.

O’Reilly is accused of stalking one of the alleged victims between April and July 2019 and stalking the other woman between February and August 2019.

The court has heard that O’Reilly, of Jameson Place, Sudbury, has psychiatric issues and is not fit to stand trial.

The jury will have to decide if he behaved in the way described by the victims.

The trial continues.