Stalker jailed after threatening to rape victim

A stalker has been jailed after he bombarded a woman with messages threatening to rape her.

Andrew Gladwin of Haweswater, Huntingdon, described the victim as his “wife for life” – despite them never being in a relationship.

Gladwin, 53, had met the victim several years ago and befriended her through a shared interest in running.

After a few runs together, the victim stopped running with Gladwin as he made her feel uncomfortable.

Over the next few years, she received a few sporadic inappropriate texts from him.

But out of the blue, in October last year, Gladwin sent her a barrage of sexually violent messages from a fake Facebook account.

Within a few weeks he sent her more than a hundred, in which he said he “owned” her and how he liked to drive past her house in the morning.

He also told her “breaks from him are not allowed”.

Gladwin repeatedly sent threats to rape her in her home and told her she “completely belonged to him”.

The terrified victim, who suspected it was Gladwin, called the police and said she felt she was being followed.

Officers arrested Gladwin on 5 November and seized his devices, which confirmed he was behind the disturbing messages.

At a hearing in April, Gladwin admitted stalking involving fear of violence and sending communication threatening death or serious harm.

On Thursday (17 July) at Cambridge Crown Court, Gladwin was sentenced to two years and four months in prison.

He was also handed a ten-year restraining order.

Det Sgt Simon Boast, who investigated, said: “Gladwin had become fixated on the victim and remained so, despite not making direct contact with her for some time.

“The fact his behaviour escalated so suddenly, and in such graphic sexual and violent terms, was extremely concerning and it warranted very quick intervention by the police.

“The nature and frequency of the messages understandably caused the victim extreme distress. No one should ever be made to feel like that. Stalking is a crime we take very seriously and I very much welcome this custodial sentence.”

For more advice and support visit our dedicated advice pages about stalking and harassment.