Prison sentence for stalker who traumatised Selby victim

These are the words of a victim who lived in the Selby district when a West Yorkshire man began a campaign of intimidation which lasted almost two years and caused her to fear for her life, according to North Yorkshire Police.

Andrew Philip Russell, 35, of George Street, Pontefract, was jailed for five years and four months at York Crown Court on Friday, November 21.

He was convicted of stalking involving serious alarm or distress, police said.

North Yorkshire Police said Russell was in a relationship with another woman when he began to stalk the victim – who initially believed she was being stalked by an ex-partner who was in prison for assaulting her, and who she believed was asking other people to target her on his behalf.

Police said Russell was behind the threats and intimidation masking them as though they were orchestrated by the ex-partner from prison.

The campaign of abuse began with her car being fitted with a tracking device, followed by threatening messages from fake social media accounts, and numerous attempts to hack into her social media and email accounts.

She came home one day to find her house had been broken into and later discovered that her Wi-Fi and security cameras had been disabled.

She then began to receive phone calls and voice messages threatening her and her family from an unknown person and voices she did not recognise, police said.

The victim became so afraid of the threats and stalking, that she refused to attend court to give evidence against the ex-partner.

Another witness in the case was also threatened with violence and he too refused to attend court, police added.

As the abuse continued, the victim soon began to suspect that the threats and intimidation were not actually from her ex-partner at all, but from Russell.

The force said its investigation found that Russell was behind the stalking campaign.

He was caught when CCTV showed him topping up one of the multiple phone numbers used to stalk the victim.

The victim was forced to move home several times as each time Russell found her, on one occasion, claiming he had taken a wrong turn down the street where she had moved to, forcing her to move and uproot her children yet again.

In a statement read out on her behalf at York Crown Court on November 28 the victim said: “The prolonged abuse and manipulation have had a profound effect on my mental health.

“Living in constant fear, uncertainty, and instability has caused significant emotional distress on me and my children.

“I have experienced anxiety, and a persistent sense of insecurity, which has affected my ability to function day-to-day.

“The repeated upheaval and the responsibility of shielding my children from harm while coping with my own trauma have been overwhelming.

“Even now, I continue to struggle with trust and feelings of vulnerability, and I have required ongoing support and intervention to manage these effects.

“We have already served a sentence – living in fear, displaced, and traumatised.”

Detective Sergeant Michelle Neighbour, of North Yorkshire Police’s stalking support team, said: “I want to recognise the victim in this case who has shown immense bravery throughout the last three years.

“Her life and that of her children have been turned upside down and completely disrupted by the actions of Russell, yet she had faith that justice would be served.

“I thank her for that as a dangerous manipulator is now behind bars.

“Despite his conniving attempts to evade prosecution using fake profiles to hide his identity, Russell was found out and while denying it throughout the investigation, audaciously claiming that he was also a victim, he eventually did the only right thing he could do, and pleaded guilty.  

“This case demonstrates the incredible lengths that stalking perpetrators will go to in order to stalk their victims.  

“The sentence imposed by His Honour, Judge Morris highlights the serious nature of stalking and the impact this particular offence has had on the victim.

“During the investigation we worked with West Yorkshire Police to obtain a Stalking Protection Order.

“This was initially granted and gave police additional powers to prevent Russell from further offending and manage him in the community while under investigation or released from prison.

“A full order was later granted for five years, however, in court, HH Judge Morris asked that he is given a 10-year SPO on his release from prison.”