WOBURN, Mass. (AP) — A Lowell man who sent his ex-girlfriend bloody metal rods he removed from his hand during what prosecutors called an ongoing pattern of harassment has been held on $25,000 bail.

Neil Sylvester pleaded not guilty Thursday in Middlesex Superior Court to multiple counts including stalking, assault and battery, kidnapping and witness intimidation.

Prosecutors say the couple dated until January, when the woman broke it off. Sylvester allegedly threatened to kill her.

Prosecutors say while behind bars the 43-year-old Sylvester called the woman hundreds of times, and sent numerous letters, including one in August that included the metal rods placed in his hand to help him heal after he punched a wall when she took out a restraining order against him. He wrote that the rods were “a token of love.”

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.