A serial stalker who violated a restraining order pertaining to one woman while harassing another online has been sentenced to jail.
According to Cheshire Police, Grant Hodnett, 41, called, texted, and emailed an ex-partner, causing “maximum distress from afar” and disclosing her information to charities and counsellors.
Another victim later saw him in an area that was off-limits because of his prior conviction for stalking.
He was given an 18-month prison sentence by Liverpool Crown Court.
According to police, Hodnett and the woman broke up in June 2023 after a three-month relationship.
After that, the woman started getting calls, emails, and messages informing her that many counsellors, alcohol charities, and cigarette companies had signed her up for their newsletters using her personal information.
The victim and her friends had also received calls from Hodnett—a former professional cricket player—from other numbers that were concealed.
Investigators connected the subscriptions to Hodnett and his Birch Road, Warrington, residence.
‘Shaken and distressed’
Hodnett was seen in Stockton Heath on November 1st by a woman who had previously been found guilty of stalking him in September 2020.
An indefinite restraining order prevented him from going near the area.
According to the force, Hodnett tried to conceal his tablet, laptop, and cell phone during his two arrests.
According to detectives, “overwhelming evidence against him” had been found.
Hodnett entered a guilty plea to charges of violating a restraining order and stalking that caused significant alarm and distress.
Two permanent restraining orders were issued against him, preventing him from getting in touch with his victims, posting or publishing anything about them, or going anywhere in Warrington or Northwich.
He was referred to by Cheshire Police as a “serial domestic abuse perpetrator” who had left the women “shaken and distressed”.
“These convictions clearly demonstrate he is either unable or unwilling to accept his victims’ decisions to end their relationships with him and to leave them alone or adhere to orders from the courts,” the spokesperson continued.
The victims expressed their hope that their perpetrator’s sentence would “help keep other women safe” as he praised their bravery and strength.
The victims’ commissioner for London conducted a review and discovered that the criminal justice system is failing stalking victims.
According to Claire Waxman’s review, repeat offenders commit two-thirds of stalking offences in London.
“The system has become complicit in allowing stalking cases to escalate,” she stated.
The new minister for safeguarding, Jess Phillips, declared that the Home Office would address violence against women as “the national emergency that it is”.
Under the direction of the victims’ commissioner, the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (Mopac) is conducting its first stalking review.
The purpose of the report’s commission was to examine how the London Metropolitan Police handles stalker complaints.
According to Ms. Waxman’s findings, 41% of stalking victims saw no further police action on their complaints, and 45% of victims withdrew from the legal system.
She stated to BBC London: “It’s a near total failure to tackle stalking and, when we don’t tackle it, we’re actually leaving victims at risk and enabling stalkers to continue.”
She continued by saying that nationwide, police departments frequently ignored complaints until “something bad” had occurred.
According to her report, there was “confusion” regarding anti-stalking laws within the Metropolitan Police and the broader justice system.
It continues by stating: “Confusing legislation is hampering the police’s ability to build strong cases, enabling stalkers to act with impunity and leaving victims at risk.”
After their breakup, Emma Davey told BBC London that her ex-partner harassed and stalked her for three years.
“Even after I had left him, he was still trying to control my life,” she said. “It started with writing on all social media platforms under fake accounts, slandering my name and trying to make me feel very, very uneasy.”
Subsequently, he installed a tracker on her vehicle and even made a threat to hire a bodyguard to follow her overseas.
After reporting this behaviour to the Met Police, she claimed she kept hearing that there wasn’t enough evidence to support her case.
“One police officer even said ‘when he does something – then we can take action’,” she stated.
Ms. Davey revealed to BBC London that she afterwards developed an app designed for stalking victims to record a log of incidents that they could present to police.
‘Need for reform is clear’
According to the report, one in five women and one in ten men in the UK have experienced stalking.
According to the report, police records of stalking were frequently inaccurate because the officers were not trained to recognise the signs of stalking, how they escalated, or the danger they posed to their victims.
“With children disproportionately affected by the most serious forms of stalking, the need for reform is clear,” the report stated.
The lead for public protection at the Met, Cdr Kevin Southworth, stated that the force accepted the report’s conclusions and acknowledged the need for reform.
“The Met is transforming the way it protects the public from harm, better targeting predatory offenders and identifying stalkers as early as possible,” he stated.
The government and the Met have received 13 recommendations from the review and Mopac to overhaul the justice system’s response to stalking.
A campaign to increase public awareness of the behaviours that qualify as stalking is one of them.
A separate stalking offence that “provides a clear definition of stalking to… remove the onus on the victim to prove the impact” was also recommended by the report for the government to consider.
Furthermore, “delivering a victim care hub in London to ensure victims have a dedicated, highly trained advocate” is advised by Mopac and the Met.
The justice system needs to “radically change to stop the cycle of reoffending and make London safer for everyone,” according to London Mayor Sadiq Khan.
The government would “drastically improve” the way the police and criminal justice system handle stalking, according to the minister of safeguarding.
“This includes strengthening the use of stalking protection orders and giving women the right to know the identity of online stalkers,” said Ms. Phillips.
According to Cdr. Southworth, the Met will employ “counter-terrorism techniques” to boost the quantity of protection orders against stalkers.
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