redred
02-25-2012, 01:43 AM
A student whose boyfriend secretly bombarded her with sexually explicit photos for over three years yesterday told of her ‘sustained mental torture'.
Ruth Jeffery said she never believed Shane Webber could be behind the ‘vile and malicious’ hate campaign and assumed she was the victim of a sinister mystery stalker.
Her unemployed boyfriend even posted naked images of her on adult websites and sent them to her family and friends, including her horrified parents.
The 22-year-old university student said the ordeal made her suicidal and caused her to abort their unborn child.
He claimed that he had started the harassment after the abortion - although Miss Jeffery's family insist the stalking began long before the abortion, and that that was the reason she had the termination.
Her mother Elaine, 49, said: ‘She was so distressed by what had happened she could not go through with the pregnancy. She feared her stress would harm the baby.’
Today, after watching in court as Webber was jailed for four months, Miss Jeffery called for a new law to crackdown on internet stalking.
She said: ‘The whole thing was cruel and calculated. Far from suspecting him, I went to him for support.
'I shared everything with him. He was a normal, caring boyfriend, or so I thought.
‘I cannot put into words how devastated I felt when I found out Shane was responsible. I thought there must have been some mistake. I still find it hard to comprehend now.
‘It was absolutely vicious. He intentionally controlled me, he belittled me and he and harmed me.
'He put me through a sustained mental torture.
'He has wrecked the past three-and-a- half years of my life. I felt watched the whole time.
‘I would argue with my parents when they told me they believed it was Shane.
‘My confidence dropped completely and I found I couldn’t do simple things.
‘I am sure there are still pictures out there of me online and it will be difficult to take them down.
‘I am happy that Webber has been jailed, but I think the law needs to be reviewed to take into account this new and very disturbing form of harassment and stalking.
‘I’m sure there must be many more victims like me who are too afraid to report it or fear they will not be taken seriously.
‘It’s time for Parliament to look at the whole situation and update the law to act as a deterrent and protect victims.’
Miss Jeffery urged anyone suffering from internet stalking to report it immediately and keep a diary of the abuse.
The couple met at school in Nottingham and got together as teenagers before Miss Jeffery moved with her family to Southampton.
The relationship with Webber continued when she later moved to Loughborough to study computing science.
But unknown to Miss Jeffery, Webber posted up to 12 images of a nude or sexual nature of his girlfriend, and also of himself with her, on to social networking sites including Facebook, Southampton Magistrates’ Court heard.
One batch in April 2011 was called Nude Jeffery and was sent to many close friends and family.
Frank Richardson, prosecuting, said: ‘She had no knowledge that Shane Webber was sending these images to her friends.'
When she asked him about images that only he would have access to, he claimed one of his friends had stolen the photos from his computer which led to the innocent man’s arrest.
‘That was manipulation, that was control, that was mind control,’ Mr Richardson said.
Webber even went online posing as Miss Jeffery.
He contacted men saying she was sexually attracted to them and gave them her university address. One man turned up at her student house and had to be turned away.
Eventually her father, Gordon, made his own investigation and traced the postings to a site registered to Webber and he was arrested and interviewed by police.
In mitigation, Janet Grey said that Webber had Asperger’s syndrome and had not realised the impact of what he was doing.
She said earlier press reports about Webber’s stalking had helped him to understand how badly he had behaved.
‘Being dogged by the press and being called a "sicko" has had an impact on him and he now realises the devastating impact he had on Ruth and her family. That must be a good thing.’
Webber, who admitted one count of harassment, sat emotionless in the dock drinking water throughout the hearing.
Sentencing him, District Judge Anthony Callaway said: ‘This was a gross breach of trust against a former girlfriend who you had known for a number of years and who was pregnant with your child.
‘The type of harassment represents a gross violation of her privacy and in circumstances nobody, man, woman, let alone a youngster at university, should be obliged to experience.’
Webber’s mother sat weeping at the back of the court throughout the hearing and blew him a kiss as he was led down to the cells.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2055678/Shane-Webber-stalked-girlfriend-Ruth-Jeffery-online-jailed-4-months.html
Ruth Jeffery said she never believed Shane Webber could be behind the ‘vile and malicious’ hate campaign and assumed she was the victim of a sinister mystery stalker.
Her unemployed boyfriend even posted naked images of her on adult websites and sent them to her family and friends, including her horrified parents.
The 22-year-old university student said the ordeal made her suicidal and caused her to abort their unborn child.
He claimed that he had started the harassment after the abortion - although Miss Jeffery's family insist the stalking began long before the abortion, and that that was the reason she had the termination.
Her mother Elaine, 49, said: ‘She was so distressed by what had happened she could not go through with the pregnancy. She feared her stress would harm the baby.’
Today, after watching in court as Webber was jailed for four months, Miss Jeffery called for a new law to crackdown on internet stalking.
She said: ‘The whole thing was cruel and calculated. Far from suspecting him, I went to him for support.
'I shared everything with him. He was a normal, caring boyfriend, or so I thought.
‘I cannot put into words how devastated I felt when I found out Shane was responsible. I thought there must have been some mistake. I still find it hard to comprehend now.
‘It was absolutely vicious. He intentionally controlled me, he belittled me and he and harmed me.
'He put me through a sustained mental torture.
'He has wrecked the past three-and-a- half years of my life. I felt watched the whole time.
‘I would argue with my parents when they told me they believed it was Shane.
‘My confidence dropped completely and I found I couldn’t do simple things.
‘I am sure there are still pictures out there of me online and it will be difficult to take them down.
‘I am happy that Webber has been jailed, but I think the law needs to be reviewed to take into account this new and very disturbing form of harassment and stalking.
‘I’m sure there must be many more victims like me who are too afraid to report it or fear they will not be taken seriously.
‘It’s time for Parliament to look at the whole situation and update the law to act as a deterrent and protect victims.’
Miss Jeffery urged anyone suffering from internet stalking to report it immediately and keep a diary of the abuse.
The couple met at school in Nottingham and got together as teenagers before Miss Jeffery moved with her family to Southampton.
The relationship with Webber continued when she later moved to Loughborough to study computing science.
But unknown to Miss Jeffery, Webber posted up to 12 images of a nude or sexual nature of his girlfriend, and also of himself with her, on to social networking sites including Facebook, Southampton Magistrates’ Court heard.
One batch in April 2011 was called Nude Jeffery and was sent to many close friends and family.
Frank Richardson, prosecuting, said: ‘She had no knowledge that Shane Webber was sending these images to her friends.'
When she asked him about images that only he would have access to, he claimed one of his friends had stolen the photos from his computer which led to the innocent man’s arrest.
‘That was manipulation, that was control, that was mind control,’ Mr Richardson said.
Webber even went online posing as Miss Jeffery.
He contacted men saying she was sexually attracted to them and gave them her university address. One man turned up at her student house and had to be turned away.
Eventually her father, Gordon, made his own investigation and traced the postings to a site registered to Webber and he was arrested and interviewed by police.
In mitigation, Janet Grey said that Webber had Asperger’s syndrome and had not realised the impact of what he was doing.
She said earlier press reports about Webber’s stalking had helped him to understand how badly he had behaved.
‘Being dogged by the press and being called a "sicko" has had an impact on him and he now realises the devastating impact he had on Ruth and her family. That must be a good thing.’
Webber, who admitted one count of harassment, sat emotionless in the dock drinking water throughout the hearing.
Sentencing him, District Judge Anthony Callaway said: ‘This was a gross breach of trust against a former girlfriend who you had known for a number of years and who was pregnant with your child.
‘The type of harassment represents a gross violation of her privacy and in circumstances nobody, man, woman, let alone a youngster at university, should be obliged to experience.’
Webber’s mother sat weeping at the back of the court throughout the hearing and blew him a kiss as he was led down to the cells.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2055678/Shane-Webber-stalked-girlfriend-Ruth-Jeffery-online-jailed-4-months.html