COLINDALE STALKER SENTENCED FOR HARASSMENT
A stalker from Barnet, who was only detained after intervention by this publication, has been sentenced to serve time in prison for repeatedly harassing his former partner.However, he is expected to be released within a few weeks.
Deepesh Mehta received a 16-week prison sentence on Tuesday, October 3.
His former girlfriend, identified as Caroline (a pseudonym), expressed concern that since he has been in custody since August, he might rejoin the community soon.
“I am worried,” she said.
“I don’t know if it’s going to stop.” Mehta, aged 28 and residing on Booth Road in Colindale, had previously been convicted on May 24 of harassment without violence against Caroline.
The court in Ealing also imposed a restraining order.
Despite this, shortly after the order was issued, Mehta launched another prolonged campaign of harassment, blatantly violating the court order.
Caroline, who lives in Wembley, reached out to this newspaper in mid-August, explaining she had repeatedly alerted police to his breaches but felt no action was being taken.
Following our inquiry into police inaction, Mehta was arrested hours later.
At Willesden Magistrates’ Court, he pleaded guilty to breaching the restraining order by calling and emailing Caroline and was subsequently sentenced.
In an interview in August, Caroline described how soon after the restraining order was enacted, she started receiving persistent calls from unknown numbers.
“He breached it instantly,” she said.
“At one point, he admitted it was him and jokingly told me he had a new car, claiming that he was following her around.” She reported that the calls often coincided with her arriving or leaving her home, indicating he likely watched her as he made contact.
Unpaid takeaway deliveries continued to arrive at her address, and an Instagram account was created to befriend her relatives.
Someone also attempted to hack her online accounts.
All these troubling incidents ceased after this publication’s intervention and Mehta’s subsequent arrest and prosecution.
Caroline, though grateful, voiced frustration at having to involve the media, saying, “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 also voiced fears that as soon as Mehta is released, the harassment will resume.
The Metropolitan Police asserts that addressing violence against women and girls remains a key priority for them.
