Man jailed for stalking and raping young girl he met online

Police issued a warning to young people over protecting themselves online, after a man was jailed for a series of rapes and stalking offences against a young woman from Brighton.
Shaun Harrad (Photograph: Sussex Police) SUS-161212-144048001Shaun Harrad (Photograph: Sussex Police) SUS-161212-144048001
Shaun Harrad (Photograph: Sussex Police) SUS-161212-144048001

Shaun Harrad, 55, unemployed, of Sandringham Road, Laindon, Essex, was sentenced to 15 years in prison at Hove Crown Court on Friday (December 9), having been found guilty of multiple offences of rape, of causing actual bodily harm, of distributing indecent images, and of stalking.

He will not be eligible to be considered for parole until he has completed two thirds of his sentence. He will also be a registered sex offender for life and was given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) severely restricting his access to computers.

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Sussex Police said Harrad targeted the victim, now 20, when she was aged 13, through Facebook where he pretended to be a 21-year-old named ‘Paul’. Through what started as innocent chat, he gained her trust, convincing her to send him increasingly explicit images of herself.

He also pretended to be a young girl on Facebook, according to police, and got the victim’s young teenage brother to send indecent images of himself, which he then passed on to the victim and threatened to distribute the images to their friends and family unless she kept contact with him. Harrad then threatened her saying that he would tell her family and friends - the victim felt she had to continue the relationship to protect herself and her family. He then sent photos to her parents and threatened them over a period of years.

Police said when the victim was 18, Harrad showed his true identity and arranged to meet the victim which involved sexual activity including rapes, in various hotels in Sussex. The victim was coerced and frightened, being issued with conditions by Harrad that she had to abide by. If Harrad was displeased he would then threaten her and also said that he would destroy her family.

It was after an incident in June 2016, when the victim was raped and physically assaulted, causing actual bodily harm, at the address where she was living in Brighton, that she finally came to the police in Brighton and reported all the incidents.

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Harrad was arrested in Essex on the same day that the victim had felt able to report the offences, and he was charged and remanded in custody that day.

In sentencing Harrad, Judge David Rennie said: “You represent every such child or young person’s nightmare. You know how easy it is to set up a fake online identity, confident in the knowledge that you are likely to be able to hook the interest of young gullible people. You frightened and intimidated her into silence. You made threats that you intended her to believe such as throwing acid into her face.”

Detective Constable Tracey Dixon of the Brighton Safeguarding Investigation Unit said: “This young woman was deceived by this man in believing she had met a young handsome man online. A man, who she thought was her friend and boyfriend, Harrad, took advantage of her by getting her to send him indecent images. Over time, he terrified her and her family by stalking them, sending images and making threats when she did not comply with Harrad’s demands. She did not known where to turn.

“Thankfully she summoned up the courage after all the stalking, the threats and the rapes, to come to us in June this year and explain what had happened over the past seven years both in Berkshire, where her family lived, and Sussex. We took swift action and within 24 hours Harrad was arrested, charged and before a court.

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“Young people need to take care when meeting people online and they should never feel they have nowhere to turn in times of need. They must discuss any concerns with parents, teachers, friends, or the police.”