Swansea stalker to be tracked by satellite after campaign of harassment against victim

A 54-year-old man who spent two years stalking a woman has avoided jail, but will have his movements tracked after being fitted with a satellite monitoring tag.

Jeremy Inglis, from Swansea, will be subject to what is known as 'trail monitoring' for the next six months after admitting one count of stalking.

Stephen Rees, prosecuting, told Swansea Crown Court that the defendant and the victim first met in May 2019 through a shared interest in photography.

The woman enjoyed making and selling craft items, and he bought a piece of jewellery from her.

But by October of that year, the woman had distanced herself from Inglis, having become "uncomfortable" with his behaviour.

The court was told that it started with Inglis posting critical comments on the woman's jewellery website.

That Christmas, Inglis sent his victim a card, although she had not given him her address.

She began to fear he had followed her home, and felt she had to keep the curtains in her house closed when she was inside.

The woman said she then began to see Inglis "too many times for it to be a coincidence" whenever she went walking in coastal beauty spot Mumbles.

"Obsessed" Inglis also hung around outside her workplace, and on occasion would follow her in the streets, the court heard.

The prosecution said Inglis started to use false email accounts to contact the victim, including one message where he threatened to hang himself.

He also continued to leave messages on her website, and began abusing her friends on their social media accounts.

When the woman found a job in a different location, she had to ask her new employer not to put a profile of her on their website as it would alert the defendant to where she was.

The court heard Inglis' behaviour continued throughout 2020 and 2021, when that summer he confronted the victim and her friend who were walking on a local beach.

He started shouting at them, and later sent his victim a message saying: "Do you think I'm the Yorkshire Ripper?"

Inglis, who has no previous convictions, was arrested in early 2022 - but claimed it was the woman who was stalking him.

He subsequently admitted one count of stalking and causing alarm or distress.

Stuart John, for Inglis, said a psychiatric report had concluded his client had difficultly understanding the emotions of others, had rigid or literal thought patterns, lacked awareness of his actions, and had "low or non-existent victim empathy".

He said the report had also identified social anxiety, depression, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Recorder Simon Hughes said he had concluded that there was a realistic prospect of rehabilitation and that it was "just possible" to suspended the prison sentence that was due.

Inglis was sentenced to nine months in prison, suspended for two years, and was ordered to complete a rehabilitation course. He was also made subject to a trail monitoring requirement for the next six months, as well as a 10-year restraining order banning him from contacting his victim.

He was warned that he should be "under no misapprehension" about what would happen if he continued to contact the woman, and that he would be imprisoned.

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