Widnes stalker disguised himself as police officer to get into woman's house

A stalker who threatened and harassed his victim with revenge porn before dressing up as a police officer to enter her home has been jailed..

Rhys Hardman, from Widnes in Cheshire, sent hundreds of messages and phone calls to a woman after becoming obsessed with her.

Leading up to his arrest, he created fake social media profiles and pestered the victim for naked pictures which he then used to blackmail her.

As well as harassing the victim, the 23-year-old also set up a fake Facebook profile in her name, with which he claimed she was going to join OnlyFans, an adult-oriented subscription website.

Despite being caught and charged, just four days before his original court appearance - on 25 July - he then turned up at the woman's home in a fake police uniform claiming to be "PC Hill".

He told her father he had an update regarding the case, and asked for her contact details.

He also said Rhys Hardman had gone missing, and asked about the victim's mental health, her relationship with Hardman, and whether she was seeing someone.

Later that night, the woman returned home and was overheard by her parents screaming when she received a call from Hardman, who she immediately identified.

He continued to deny it, and tried to convince her he was PC Hill.

After continuing to try and call the victim, Hardman eventually went to Runcorn Bridge and jumped into the River Mersey.

He was rescued and taken to Aintree Hospital, but lost sight in one eye as a result of his actions.

At Liverpool Crown Court, Hardman pleaded guilty to two counts of stalking, blackmail, disclosing private sexual photographs with intent to cause distress, and perverting the course of justice.

He was sentenced to seven years and eight months in prison.

Before being arrested, Rhys Hardman had spent months harassing and threatening the victim.

The court heard how Hardman had set up a fake profile pretending to be an ex-girlfriend called Jessica which he used to reach out to the victim.

"Jessica" began repeatedly asking the woman for sexual images and promised to pay £1,500 in return. The victim was initially reluctant, but "Jessica" offered more and more money.

The victim eventually gave in, and sent around 20 semi-naked images in which her face is not visible.

When she asked for the promised money, "Jessica" replied she could not pay the money as she now needed to fund her grandfather's funeral.

Shortly afterwards, the victim was bombarded with Snapchat messages, both directly from Rhys' account and from "Jessica" threatening to share her nude pictures and attempting to blackmail her into sending more.

When she refused, Hardman told the woman he would get her "jumped".

Hardman also contacted the victim pretending to be his own mother, and told the woman he had taken his own life.

She then received messages and calls from accounts offering condolences on Hardman's passing.

At this point, the woman was receiving 30-40 calls from withheld numbers a day, and eventually she had to change her mobile phone number.

The stalking escalated on Christmas Eve 2022, when Hardman appeared at the woman's workplace with presents. She was forced to flee through a backdoor.

He returned again on New Year's Eve, and she told him to stop following her. He later came back a third time, and the victim had to quit her job.

Hardman also made a fake police report during this time, in which he claimed to be a victim of online harassment himself, showing Police messages from Snapchat accounts that were actually made by him.

Hardman was initially interviewed in February 2022, and denied the offences. However, in January 2023 he called the police and confessed.

He said: "I’m f***ed either way. I've wasted your time. What I've done is wrong so I should be punished for that."

Carmel Wilde, defending, said: "He doesn't feel good about what he has done. He's mortified by the shame he has brought on his family. He hates himself.

"He accepts he deserves prison. He even says he can't look himself in the mirror. He knows he will be punished, as he should be."

She said Hardman, who has no previous convictions, had a history of self-harm and suicidal behaviour and had anxiety, depression, and autism.

She said he was suffering from drug addiction at the time of the offences but had been drug-free since being taken into custody.

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