A Hove man who stalked an ex-partner, threatened to publish intimate pictures of her and concocted elaborate lies to control her behaviour has been jailed.
Peter Moran, 57, a sports instructor, of Downland Drive, in Hove, subjected his victim – a woman in her fifties – to mind games while they were together, disappearing for weeks at a time with no contact.
He would explain his absences by claiming to be involved in an MMA fight to the death or to be carrying out top secret work for MI6.
In 2019, he coerced her into moving into his flat, before turning the property into a gym and forcing them both to sleep on a mattress on the floor.
After his victim ended the relationship at the end of 2019, Moran bombarded her with messages, emails and social media contact through a variety of fake accounts.
He would turn up unannounced at her work and home, banging on the windows and behaving aggressively.
On 31 January 2020, she visited his home in the hope a face to face encounter would end the harassment campaign.
Moran’s open computer screen was covered with pictures of her, and he repeated previous threats to publish ‘hundreds’ of intimate photographs of her online.
The following day, the police were called to reports of Moran sitting outside his victim’s house. He was arrested after being pulled over nearby and found with a key to her house. A suspicious passport was also found at his property.
Moran was subsequently charged with stalking involving serious alarm or distress, having a class B drug and having a false identity document.
On 1 March 2023, Moran was found guilty of stalking and having a class B drug, and not guilty of possessing a false identity document.
At Hove Crown Court on 24 September, he was sentenced to three years and eight months in prison and given an indefinite restraining order.
In a victim impact statement read out in court, Moran’s victim explained the long-term impacts of his offending, leaving her paranoid, with trust issues and leading a ‘very solitary and isolated life’.
She said: “Since Peter’s arrest in February 2020, I continued to live in fear every day, at work, at home, in the street.
“I would always be looking over my shoulder, scanning crowds, cars and corners. I lived and live, with the constant knowledge that he is watching and monitoring my every move. My home and my work were no longer my sanctuary.
“Every minute of every day I was reminded of the things that happened or could happen. He had access to both and therefore I was never safe. His unpredictability and unstable state of mind is terrifying.
