A Barnet stalker who was only arrested after an intervention by this newspaper has been jailed for harassing his ex-girlfriend – but he will be free again with weeks.
Deepesh Mehta was handed a 16-week prison term yesterday (Tuesday, October 3).
But his victim – ex-girlfriend Caroline (not her real name) – was warned that as he has been on remand since August, he will likely be back on the streets by the end of this month.
“I am worried,” she said. “I don’t know if it’s going to stop.”
Mehta, 28, of Booth Road in Colindale, had already been convicted on May 24 of harassment without violence towards Caroline.
Ealing Magistrates' Court slapped him with a restraining order.
But within days, he began another months-long campaign of harassment, in direct breach of the order.
Caroline, who lives in the Wembley area, contacted this newspaper in desperation in mid-August, saying she had repeatedly informed the police of Mehta’s breaches but nothing was being done.
Hours after we questioned the Met Police over its inaction, he was finally arrested.
At Willesden Magistrates’ Court yesterday, Mehta was sentenced after pleading guilty to breaching his restraining order by calling and emailing Caroline.
In an interview with this paper in August, she described how within days of the restraining order being imposed, she began receiving constant calls from withheld numbers.
“He breached it straight away,” she said.
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On one occasion, Mehta admitted it was him calling and laughingly told her that he had a new car now, so she would not know when he was following her around.
She said the calls often came right as she was entering or exiting her home, suggesting Mehta was watching her as he rang.
Takeaways, which had not been paid for, were repeatedly delivered to her home.
An Instagram account set up in Caroline’s name kept trying to befriend her relatives, and somebody kept trying to hack into her online accounts.
The strange incidents all stopped after our intervention saw Mehta arrested and charged.
Caroline, while relieved, said of contacting the press: “It’s just ridiculous that I have to take a step like this, rather than them (the police) doing their jobs in the first place.”
She is now fearful that as soon as Mehta is released, the harassment will begin again.
The Met Police says targeting people who commit offences against women and girls “is one of our top priorities”.
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