Jealous boyfriend who bugged his partner’s home facing jail

A jealous boyfriend who planted hidden microphones in his partner’s home so he could eavesdrop on her conversations will be sentenced in September.

Darren Querns, 35, subjected his partner of six years to a campaign of abuse that left her feeling “depressed, suicidal and a shell of the person she was”.

Glasgow High Court heard that during their relationship Querns accused his partner of infidelity, shouted and swore at her, physically pushed her and pinned her down, and monitored her mobile phone and social media accounts.

Towards the end of their relationship his partner became suspicious that he was listening in to her private conversations and reported the matter to the police.

A search of her home uncovered four listening devices hidden inside wall sockets, two in the living room, one in her bedroom, and one in the kitchen.

The offences before me are serious matters, having been committed over a period of time

Two of the devices had Querns’ DNA on them, and police found SIM cards similar to those inside the devices during a subsequent search of his Glasgow home.

Judge Lady Drummond told Querns: “You have got a criminal record. Your offences have not been domestic but they have been serious enough you have been sent to prison before.

“The offences before me are serious matters, having been committed over a period of time.”

She requested that a report be drawn up before sentencing, which will take place on September 5 at Edinburgh High Court.

Querns, dressed in a blue checked suit, showed no emotion as he was led from the courtroom.

During the hearing the court heard that Querns met his partner in 2016 when she was just 15, and about 12 years younger than him.

The court heard they argued frequently, with Querns accusing her of infidelity, shouting and swearing at her, and physically pushing and pinning her.

The court heard that on one occasion while they were staying in a Glasgow hotel Querns had to be removed by hotel staff after becoming aggressive towards her, shouting and swearing, throwing items across the room and smashing glass, some of which cut his partner.

The court heard he continued to shout at her as he was being led away down the hotel corridor.

The Advocate Depute explained that in 2023 Querns’ partner became suspicious he was listening in to her private conversations.

On February 16 2023 Querns sent his partner’s mother a Facebook message saying that “she manipulated him and everyone else”, and sent her two recordings of her speaking to someone to prove it.

Seeing as these calls contained “private information” the mother became “concerned about how he had been able to obtain them” and contacted her daughter to alert her.

This suspicion came to a head during an exchange of messages on Facebook in early August 2023.

On August 5 Querns’ partner saw a message on Facebook about how he had bought a new car, and she replied with a message asking how he could afford a car but could not afford to pay for the child they had together, who was living with her.

In response he referred to the contents of a private conversation she had had, which she knew he could not have known about if he had not been spying on her.

The Advocate Depute explained she then used a “butter knife to unscrew the wall socket” in her bedroom, which she had noticed had a red light in it.

DNA matching the accused was found in two of the devices

He continued: “She found a device and SIM card, then contacted the police.”

He told the court that a search of her home found four listening devices with SIM cards, two in her living room, one behind the headboard in her bedroom, and one in the kitchen.

He explained that the devices automatically activated if sound got above a certain level, and that a “phone call can be made to the SIM which will activate the device, providing an open mic.”

He added: “DNA matching the accused was found in two of the devices,” and that a search of Querns’ home found SIM cards similar to those found in the devices.

Querns pleaded guilty to threatening or abusive behaviour and engaging in a course of behaviour which was abusive of his partner or ex-partner.

He pleaded not guilty to two other charges under the Misuse of Drugs Act and the Explosive Substances Act, which the crown accepted.

Querns, who remains on remand, will be sentenced in Edinburgh High Court on September 5.

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