Pokemon-loving 'fantasist' sent 11,000 messages to Leeds woman and called 300 times a day

Autistic Darryl Benn sent photos of his genitals and even created AI images of the woman - superimposing her head into naked women - and posted them on Facebook.

He boasted how he did not accept sexual consent, told her he would kidnap and rape her and called her offensive names.

The 31-year-old was jailed at Leeds Crown Court after the judge described it as a “campaign of stalking”.

Benn had met the woman in a comic-book store in Leeds in 2015 and discussed a shared interest in the Japanese animation, Pokemon. She was just a teenager at the time.

Benn then began to message her, telling her had a “crush” on her. However, she made it clear that she had a boyfriend and was not interested.

Prosecutor Emily Jenkins said things “became strange” and that the woman would regularly bump into Benn in Leeds city centre.

He continued to message, even begging her to be with him. He would send her messages that just read “please”, repeated 20 or 30 times, Ms Jenkins said.

Then in 2019 when he found out that the woman had split up with her partner, he sent her messages that read: “I can finally have my girl. I have been waiting for this for so long.”

But after she rebuffed him again, Benn, of Sycamore Walk, Stanningley, continued to message, telling her he would burn down her house, kidnap her and “take her to abandoned warehouse and rape her”.

The woman told Benn that he lived in “some sort of fantasy world”. He took photos of her in Leeds city centre and sent them to her, along with a photo of his erect penis.

He created the images of the woman’s head and imposed them onto photos of other women either naked or wearing lingerie, posting them on social media.

Benn also made comments towards her about sexual consent being a “myth created by the far left”. He also said: “I like stalking you, it’s good fun. You are fair game to me.”

Benn was eventually arrested and interviewed, where he admitted some of the offending. He later admitted stalking with fear of violence over a nine-year period, sending a photo of his genitals to cause alarm or distress and sending death threats.

Mitigating, James Littlehales said Benn had no previous convictions, but said there was a “clear connection” between his autism and his offending behaviour.

He said that Benn was “obsessive” and added: “It limited his capacity to consider the impact on his behaviour.

“He has accepted now she has no interest in him.”

Judge Kate Rayfield said Benn’s messages were to “maximise fear and distress” and added: “I can’t think of a more serious case of stalking without any violence.”

She jailed him for four years.

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Following the sentence hearing, the victim said: “I feel relieved that I finally have a voice, and I am being listened to, but the prolonged trauma and constant degrading words towards me has really taken a toll on my mental health.

“I hope now I can start to rebuild my life in peace, building my confidence and having freedom to go where I want, wear what I want and do what I want, without the worry of someone following me.”

Investigating the case, DC Ellie Blacklock from Leeds CID said: “This was a prolonged and relentless campaign of abuse which saw the victim subjected to years of trauma caused by somebody she simply met in a shop.“

“The offending became increasingly disturbing, culminating in the victim receiving more than 11,000 messages in the space of three weeks.

“I want to praise her for her strength and courage in coming forward to report it.”