'Odd' stalker targeted Leeds University student after joining games society to meet women

Bradley Moon was labelled "delusional" before being jailed this week, and has been banned from entering university premises for the next five years due to his bizarre behaviour.

Despite having no link to the university, the 28-year-old joined the games club in September 2022, which was predominantly made up of female members. But he made them feel uncomfortable with racist remarks, would boast about shoplifting and give members unwanted hugs during their regular meetings.

Leeds Crown Court heard that he would turn up an hour early for gatherings when only one of the group's committee meetings was present, making her feel uncomfortable.

Prosecutor Philip Standfast said with concerns rising, a member Googled him and found that Moon, who went under the alias Isaac Moon, was a convicted sex offender having been caught with indecent images of children in 2016.

He was subsequently kicked out of the group, but he continued to harass one of the leading members, sending disturbing pictures to her social media accounts. This included a swastika, a photo of a dissected frog and a picture of people laid dead in a library.

Mr Standfast said the "graphic nature" of them badly affected the young woman, disturbing her studies and caused her to suffer nightmares.

Moon, of Trentham Street, Beeston, was arrested and interviewed and initially refused to answer questions. He then began insulting the officer.

He later bizarrely claimed he was in a relationship with the student, and it was her that was at fault. He eventually admitted a charge of stalking and two of sending malicious communications. He has nine previous convictions for 14 offences.

In 2016 he was jailed for 12 months at York Crown Court after hundreds of photos and videos were found on his phone that depicted young children being abused. He was also given a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) which he breached last year and was given 10 months' jail.

He appeared at Leeds Crown Court via video link from HMP Leeds this week, where he is serving that sentence. He spent most of the hearing with his head on a table, then left the video booth just prior to his sentence being passed.

Mitigating, John Hobley said Moon suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). He said: "It does not excuse his behaviour, but it may explain to some degree, his odd behaviour."

Noticing his withdrawn demeanour, Judge Christopher Batty said: "You have paid little or no regard to proceedings. You targeted a university group, in my view, to be around women. Your behaviour was distinctly odd. It caused concern. They wanted you out and you did not take it well.

"You stated that you were in a relationship with the victim, but nothing could have been further from the truth. You are delusional and I'm concerned about how dangerous you are, but there's nothing I can do about it in respect of these matters."

Get the latest headlines, straight to your inbox, with YEP’s free emails

He gave Moon 11 months' jail, to run consecutively to existing jail sentence. He was also given an indefinite-length restraining order to keep him away from the victim, and the five-year Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO) banning him from any of the city's university grounds.

Detective Inspector Simon Daley, who heads Leeds District Suspect Management Unit, said: "These offences show Moon to be someone who clearly represents a risk to women. His persistent targeting over lengthy periods of time caused significant distress and impacted on her sense of safety."