Woman reveals how internet stalker made her life hell as offences reported to West Yorkshire Police rocket by 59 per cent

Jessica, now 20, was a hugely successful video blogger with a big online following, but her life completely changed when a man repeatedly stalked her over the internet.

He would set up fake dates in her name, advertise her services as an escort online and even threatened to rape her.

She reported him to the police and logged every incident, but says the man was only given a caution.

Jessica said: "I have had to move away from the areas as I was too afraid to go outside.

"I have suffered badly with anxiety and I felt trapped in my own house in Leeds.

"I needed to get away and couldn't carry on living the way things were."

Jessica and her older sister Rachael have spoken out as latest crime statistics reveal a 59 per cent increase in the number of stalking and harassment offences reported to police .

There were 29,967 offences reported to West Yorkshire Police in the 12 months to December 2018, figures from the Office for National Statistics reveal.

West Yorkshire Police said the increase is due to improvements in "crime recording practices" and an increased confidence by victims to come forward.

Rachael said: "We want the police to listen to stalking victims.

"It needs to be taken seriously and there needs to be support for victims."

The man first contacted Jessica online just after her 18th birthday and started posting pictures of her and sending hate messages.

The posts escalated. Soon there were deaths threats, explicit rape threats detailing what he wanted to do. He was outside her house, he would say, waiting for her. Once he sent a picture which had been taken from inside her garden.

Jessica called the police and showed them everything she had been sent, but it didn’t deter him.

She said: "I had people adding me on Snapchat, asking for nude photos. One guy messaged, he said we’d arranged to meet after chatting on a dating website. Another said he’d been searching for naughty teens and my name came up.

"Then there was an escorting profile - he even put my address on it, and old photos of me."

The worst incident came when a fake Instagram account was set up in her name, with pictures posted of a woman dancing topless.

Jessica's ordeal carried on for an agonising two years, forcing her to start a new life outside of Leeds.

How police plan to tackle stalking increase

West Yorkshire Police has changed its policy on the use of harassment notices since an official inspection in 2017.

The force now has dedicated training in place for officers and staff to help raise awareness of what constitutes harassment and stalking.

A force spokesman said: “Similar to other polices forces nationally, over the last year we have seen an increase in the number of stalking offences recorded; much of this increase relates to improvements in crime recording practices by the Force and also increased confidence by victims to come forward and report these offences to police. However, we accept this is an under-reported crime and the actual number of offences will be higher.

“Our communities should feel reassured that we and our partner agencies will provide the support and help they need. Whenever there is evidence of a crime we will always do our best to find the most appropriate outcome for the victim, in what can be very distressing situations.”

Crime across West Yorkshire

Crime across West Yorkshire has seen a 12 per cent rise overall with 291, 573 offences reported to police, figures from the Office for National Statistics show.

There has been a 33 per cent increase in possession of offensive weapons with 2,314 offences reported to police.

Statistics also show there were 2,715 serious offences where a knife was used.

Violence against a person and robberies also had a rise of 32 per cent with 102,172 and 3,830 crimes recorded respectively.

There were 8,564 sexual offences reported to police - a rise of 10 per cent.

There were also 39 homicides.

Temporary Deputy Chief Constable Russ Foster said he does not underestimate public concerns following the rise in crime, but states the increase in some areas is partly attributable to better recording.

Mr Foster said he welcomes additional government funding the force is receiving to tackle serious violence, in particular knife crime.

He said: “West Yorkshire Police is exploring a series of measures to tackle knife crime, from enforcement as part of the national Operation Sceptre and targeted patrols in key hotspot areas, to diversionary activity such as the potential creation of youth zones, working with partners to give young people somewhere to go and something to do. We are also working closely with education colleagues, to drive the message that carrying a knife is never the answer.”

Bike theft across West Yorkshire fell by six per cent, criminal damage and arson by five per cent, and theft by four per cent.

Burglary was also down three per cent.

Mr Foster said he welcomed the reduction in vehicle theft, alongside the other smaller reductions.

He said: “I am really pleased to see 1,500 fewer victims of theft from vehicle and more than 750 fewer burglary victims. It is a trend I hope we can build on going forward.”