My stalking hell after sharing insignificant details online, what I thought was a sick joke was terrifyingly real
THE first gruesome message came through when Sara Manchipp was checking her Facebook on the train.
Sara, from Neath, was on her way to work seven years ago when she was shocked by a message from an unknown account.
Speaking in this exclusive interview, Sara, 34, says: “It was a full paragraph – a story.
“At first, I started laughing thinking it was a sick joke.
“But the more I read I realised it was actually someone who was quite messed up in the head.
“I did feel like they wanted to cause me harm.
“I felt that this was totally different to any other message I’d received before.
“It was the first time I felt really vulnerable and frightened.”
The message listed a sick description of rape, murder and necrophilia, that Fabulous deems too graphic to publish.
Horrified, the former Miss Wales wondered if it was part of some strange chain mail or a cruel joke that was being sent around.
In a bid to find out the events promotional ambassador screenshot it and posted it on her Facebook page.
When friends started to get in touch warning her that this was worrying, she realised she had been specifically targeted.
“I started to panic; my heart started pounding out of my chest and I felt sick”, she remembers.
Later, more messages arrived from different accounts but with the same tone.
The writer – who she assumed to be a man – would list details of Sara’s life.
He knew where she lived, and that she was near the sea, and sent disgusting, threatening messages describing fantasies of drowning her.
The messages increased in frequency and included details about her family, her education and her holidays.
“I remember feeling more and more vulnerable,” she says.
“This didn’t seem like a random person contacting anyone on the internet.
“It felt like a personal vendetta; that he was out to hurt me. I felt very threatened by it.”
Sara started to suspect everyone; her friends, her neighbours, even people she’d known for years and she became hypervigilant.
Naively, I’d never thought it would be something that would happen to me
Sara Manchipp
“If I saw a man out I would start to feel a little bit sick because I would think: ‘Is it you who’s sending these messages?’” she says.
“There was no peace for me. It was a horrible few months.”
Eventually, she spoke to the police, who took her concerns seriously, advising her to report every new message she received from the stalker.
“Every single time, within the hour there would be two police officers at my door,” she says.
“I can’t recall how many times because he kept sending messages – at all times of night.
“I’m so grateful that the police took it seriously because when he was sending these messages I was often alone and it would be nighttime – he could have been watching me from the street for all I knew.”
The police tracked the perpetrator down and found he had been targeting other women.
He admitted offences against 10 women, was jailed for two and a half years and is now subject to restraining orders.
“At the time I was happy that he would go to prison. It was only afterwards that I thought that sentence wasn’t long enough,” she says.
“For the amount of girls and women that he was terrorising – one month each – that’s terrible.
“I am glad the case came to court and that it got taken seriously, but I do think there should have been a tougher deterrent.”
What to do if you suspect you're being stalked
Tony Neate, CEO of Get Safe Online, tells Sun Online: “The perpetrators commonly obtain details about you via online information of personal and financial affairs, social and work life, relationships and your location.
As a starting point, ensure only the minimum information about you is available online and take stalking seriously.
Report it before it has serious effects on you and others and keep a record of all that takes place so you collate evidence whilst it is happening.
For expert advice visit Get Safe Online.”
Sara now warns her friends and family to be careful about what they post online.
“Naively, I’d never thought it would be something that would happen to me,” she says.
“It was quite a shock and it has really opened my eyes to the dangers of what you post on social media.
“The whole experience has made me a lot more cautious about things like checking in when I go to a gym or restaurant, and sharing information about my family or holidays I’ve been on.
“I now realise that someone could be a friend on Facebook but they may not have my best interests at heart.
“I used to be a really trusting person, I used to see the good in everybody. I think that may have been my downfall.
“There are dangerous people out there. So now I protect myself in the best way I can by securing my online presence.
“I’m always pushing out all my friends as well to let them know you shouldn’t be sharing that, or you shouldn’t be checking in here all the time.
“Just remember that your life is yours and it should be private, and you don’t have to share everything, because, to be honest, the world doesn’t need to know everything about you.”