Man jailed after three-year cyberstalking campaign

Jealous David Hughes hounded the woman after she ended their fling and his “paranoid” behaviour even led her in desperation to thinking of ending her life.

After he was finally arrested his electronic devices were examined and he was found to have copied intimate photographs of another woman colleague on to his own phone for his sexual gratification.

Liverpool Crown Court heard on Monday, September 5, that he had hacked the social media accounts of his stalking victim, repeatedly changing her passwords and even following one of her young children on Instagram.

Hughes, 41, who identified with violent screen characters, “bombarded” her with texts and on social media and sent her frightening “coded messages” including a photograph of her earring dropped in his car saying ‘bad things are coming your way.”

When she arranged to meet him to again plead with him to stop pursuing her he said, “He was crazy about her and accused her of leading him on,” said Stella Hayden, prosecuting.

Chillingly he sent her a Valentine card drenched in his aftershave and she was horrified to realise he had found out where she lived. 

When she accepted an Instagram request in a disguised name he stated, ‘once a cheat, always a cheat’ and ‘one lie is enough to question all truths.’

He also sent her a photograph of herself with the words, “I cheat,” said Miss Hayden.

He hacked her Facebook profile and searched for her wedding album photos, which he deleted, and kept re-setting the password. He added an email address to her account and when she tried to remove it he kept changing the passwords.

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Eventually she went to the police and when he was arrested in July 20 last year his electronic devices were seized and officers also found documents from work including details of her address and family.

When the devices were examined the photographs showing the other woman with her breasts and genitals exposed were found and inquiries revealed that when she had asked him for help with her iPad he took the opportunity to look at her photographs and copied the intimate ones onto his mobile phone.

In her impact statement the woman spoke of “her horror” at learning what he had done. “She said she felt violated, betrayed and vulnerable.”

It affected her sleeping and she needed counselling,” said Miss Hayden.

The stalking victim also needed counselling and had been prescribed medication.

Explaining the background Miss Hayden said that she had had a brief two month affair with Hughes “and it did not go beyond kissing.”

She said, “Every online account she held was compromised which was frightening as well as disruptive.”

The victim described it as an “incredible invasion of her privacy. She felt at points she no longer wanted to be alive.”

She became afraid to leave home and installed extra security devices. Her husband had to take time off work to care for her, she added.

Hughes, of Harris Street, Dentons Green, pleaded guilty to stalking involving serious alarm between February 2018 and July last year; unauthorised computer access with intent to commit other offences and voyeurism.

Sentencing him to two years eight months imprisonment the judge, Recorder David Knifton, QC, said that Hughes had become “infatuated” with the stalking victim.

Hughes was jailed at Liverpool Crown Court (Image: Newsquest)

He said they used to socialise as colleagues but after a Christmas party it became romantic conduct because of marriage difficulties she was then having, but in February she ended it for the sake of her marriage.

His behaviour changed and he became “jealous and controlling towards her at work. You bombarded her with messages via text and social media including when she was on holiday with her husband and family despite being instructed by her husband not to do so.

“Your behaviour continued despite her begging you repeatedly to stop. Your cyber-stalking continued over a period of three years, her social media and email accounts were hacked by you.”

He added: “As time went on the messages became increasingly disturbing and sinister, either in terms of a threatening tone or identifying yourself with fictional film or television characters with a reputation for violence to women.”

His behaviour placed a strain on the victim’s marriage and she felt intimidated and concerned for the safety of herself and her family, said Recorder Knifton.

He told Hughes, a former graduate, that his other victim had been shocked at his behaviour which was a “gross betrayal of trust. She describes feeling humiliated, violated and tormented .”

Phil Astbury, defending, said, “He does not seek for me to dilute the seriousness of the offences. He acknowledges the behaviour he displayed over a protracted period.”

He said he had shown genuine remorse and was “ashamed and embarrassed by that which he did.”

Hughes, who has no previous convictions, had been suffering from anxiety and depression which worsened after his father was diagnosed as terminally ill and subsequently died, he said.

“He describes it as a downward spiral in respect of his mental health and ability to cope. He describes his conduct as almost a distraction from the grief and trauma.”

His mental health was poor, not helped by his diabetes which he was failing to manage properly but he has since undertaken cognitive behaviour therapy.

Since his father’s death he has been supporting his 78-year-old mother and visits her daily, said Mr Astbury.