Woman made ex’s life ‘hell’ by pretending she gave birth to his baby
The stalker subjected her ex to a social media torrent following the break-up.
A stalker subjected her ex-boyfriend to a ‘campaign of harassment’ by pretending she had given birth to his baby.
Stephanie Mahoney, 32, sent social media abuse to her ex and his mum after they split up in July 2021, Liverpool Crown Court heard.
She lied about being pregnant and posted aborted foetuses alleging her ex had ‘bullied’ her into having an abortion, something which made his ‘life hell’.
Simon Leong, prosecuting, said Mahoney ‘claimed she was pregnant with his child, however that did not salvage the one-year relationship’.
Mahoney created dozens of fake accounts on social media and eventually ‘turned her attention’ to his mum as he ‘did not have much social media presence’.
She posted a picture of an aborted foetus with the caption ‘this is what [victim’s mum] wants her grandchild to look like, in pieces’. In another post, she added: ‘Why do you want your grandchild to be ripped apart?’
In one post in September 2021, accompanied by the ex’s address, Mahoney said ‘let’s get the truth out once and for all’ and branded him a ‘bully’ who had been ‘s***ging all kinds of dirty s**gs’.
In another, in February 2022, she stated: ‘This is the boy who gets girls pregnant and then bullies them into abortions.’
Mahoney again posted the man’s address and urged others to ‘get down there’. In another post, she added: ‘It’s all going off tonight.’
Meanwhile, she posted pictures of a newborn child online and said: ‘[Victim’s mum] wanted this child killed. He is an innocent newborn baby boy.’
Mr Leong told the court: ‘It was always refuted by [victim] that there was ever such a baby and that any such child was born.’
She was eventually reported and arrested while police found the fake account were linked her IP address despite denials from her.
A stalking protection order was then placed on her in December 2022 which banned her from contacting her victims and having more than one profile on any given social media platform.
But she still ‘retained multiple accounts’, including one which branded her ex-partner’s mum a ‘grandchild killer’.
Her ex told the court she posted pictures of him and his family members on a ‘paedophile page’ and her actions led to him being admitted to hospital for stress.
He said she sent ‘fake baby scans’ and ‘falsely claimed she was a nurse’.
He added: ‘No one should have to suffer like this. She lied about being pregnant on more than five occasions.
‘I was walking on eggshells constantly. She’s made my life hell, and that’s what she wanted to do. This has destroyed my family. I have never had to deal with anything like this before.
‘Going through a situation like this has made my life a total living hell. My mum was no more than a stranger to her.
‘She has never done anything to her. Never did I think I would have to drag my family through court because of a girl I got involved with stupidly.’
In mitigation Kate Morley said Mahoney was emotionally traumatised, hurt and had a deep depression following the break-up.
District Judge Gwyn Jones told Mahoney it was fortunate others did not act on the comments she made on social media.
Mahoney, who had no previous convictions, pleaded guilty to stalking and breaching a stalking protection order. She was sentenced to 18 months in prison, suspended for 18 months.
She was also given a rehabilitation activity requirement of up to 25 days, told to complete 160 hours of unpaid work, and made to pay £500 each to her former partner and his mum, as well as £400 in court costs and continues to be subject to an indefinite stalking protection order.
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