Widnes man jailed for years of online stalking and harassment

WIDNES MAN JAILED FOR YEARS OF ONLINE STALKING AND HARASSMENT

An “obsessed” stalker who created fake social media profiles and dressed as a police officer to harass and blackmail a woman has been sentenced to prison.

Rhys Hardman, 23, befriended the woman in 2018 and then persisted in pestering her online, disguising himself behind an account he claimed belonged to an ex-partner.

He was eventually arrested in July after visiting her house dressed as a police officer intending to obtain her phone number.

Hardman, from Weates Close, Widnes, was sentenced to seven years and eight months at Liverpool Crown Court on Friday.

Police stated that Hardman posed as the ex-partner and used knowledge of the victim's financial situation to persuade her to send intimate images in exchange for £1,500, which was not paid.

By October 2021, her friendship with Hardman was ending, but he continued online harassment, sending her threats of leaking private images and disclosing personal details to strangers.

Following his arrest, Hardman pleaded guilty to blackmail, perverting the course of justice, disclosing private sexual images twice, stalking twice, and impersonating a police officer.

He was also placed under an indefinite criminal behavior order alongside his custodial sentence.

PC Meg Aspinall commented that Hardman was 'obsessed with his victim' and caused her 'years of torment.'