A woman who ran an unrelenting stalking campaign against a man she had barely met will avoid jail for the offence.
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Wangaratta healthcare worker Raffaelina Dellicastelli began sending the man dozens of pages of letters, SMS messages from Telstra phone boxes in Wodonga, Wangaratta and Seymour, and Valentine's Day cards after a brief encounter.
The victim had once held a door open for the grandmother at a McDonald's about five years ago.
The man, who has worked as a policeman, paramedic, and nurse, began receiving anonymous correspondence in early December 2019.
Items were sent to his home and cards were left on his vehicle near the Wangaratta hospital.
Personal information about his private life, birthday and work routine was included.
The correspondence was sent until August 2021 and led to a 12-month investigation involving forensic testing, security footage and phone traces.
The man had been so rattled by the stalking, particularly as he had no idea who was behind it, he had considered moving from Wangaratta to Shepparton.
Dellicastelli had access to the victim's information through her work at Dorevitch Pathology.
The victim was shocked when he found out she was behind the stalking as he had barely had any interactions with her.
They'd had some brief small talk at McDonald's and Dellicastelli had paid for some coffees.
Despite working in the same area, neither had much to do with each other.
Lawyer Jonathan Brancanto said it was a "significant infatuation" but was unable to explain the reasons behind the stalking.
Magistrate Allison Vaughan repeatedly tried to get to the bottom of Dellicastelli's motivation.
The reasons are largely unclear.
"He still to this day continues to suffer the ramifications of the anxiety that was bought on by this behaviour," she said of the victim.
"He did not know who was sending these letters.
"She's recruited a friend as well, a co-accused.
"There's planning, there's manipulation."
The court heard the recipient's friendships had been destroyed but he only wanted to see the offender get help.
"It's going to be a very protracted recovery for the victim," Ms Vaughan said.
"I don't want any other person to go through what this victim has gone through.'
She also raised concerns about a lack of remorse.
Lawyer Jonathan Brancato said there was nothing malicious about the items sent to the victim.
Leading Senior Constable Stuart Pritchard told the court the victim had spent his entire working life helping others.
Ms Vaughan said she wouldn't jail the grandmother, and would instead impose a corrections order with a condition she engages with mental health treatment.
"It's an opportunity to get the help that you have desperately needed for many years," the magistrate said, and added "it blows my mind" that she worked in healthcare and found herself in this position.
"See this as an opportunity," she said.
Dellicastelli quit her job after the offending came to light in mid-2022.
She then launched a failed unfair dismissal case claiming there was "gossip and bullying and because false claims had been raised against her by her co-workers".
She has a prior offence involving more than $100,000 in financial and property deceptions and received a suspended sentence in 1998.
Dellicastelli, who now works as a carer, will be sentenced on Wednesday, March 27.
A co-offender who made calls to the victim was previously placed on an adjourned undertaking to be of good behaviour.
