EX-CON STARTED STALKING NURSE HE MET IN PRISON
A man who began stalking a woman he initially met over ten years ago when he was incarcerated was the focus of a court hearing.The judge revealed that Ilya Bass was demonstrably 'besotted and fixated' on the woman and had engaged in persistent stalking, which included tracking her down to her new residence after she had moved.
Nonetheless, because of the specific charge to which the prosecution had accepted a plea, the judge stated he was limited to sentencing Bass to a maximum of 18 weeks.
Prosecutor Brian Simpson told Swansea Crown Court that the victim had known Bass for more than ten years, beginning with their first meeting in 2013 during her nursing placement at HMP Swansea, where Bass was an inmate.
She described their relationship as merely exchanging greetings.
The court heard that both individuals regularly visited the same pub in Gorseinon the Station Hotel where Bass would follow her around, attempting to start conversations whenever he saw her.
He would often refer to her as 'baby girl.' Simpson explained that Bass started contacting the woman through calls and voicemails, sometimes playing music and mumbling.
On Valentine’s Day last year, he sent her flowers and a card, which alarmed her because she hadn’t shared her address with him.
The woman surmised that Bass must have discovered her address by prowling around her neighbourhood, possibly looking for her car with personalized plates.
She blocked his number, but Bass then began calling from blocked or withheld numbers.
In April this year, after she moved homes, Bass managed to find her new residence again.
When confronted by a property manager after showing up at her street, he claimed he was searching for his 'lady friend.' Bass was arrested in July, and police found a photograph of her car outside her new house on his phone.
During his interview, he stated he did not engage in stalking, believing they were just friends.
However, the victim expressed serious concern over his obsessive conduct, which caused her to stop frequenting her usual pub and shy away from visiting Gorseinon at all.
Bass, of Gower View Road, Gorseinon, had already pleaded guilty to charges of stalking from February 2024 to July 2025.
He was initially accused of a more serious charge involving causing fear or distress through stalking but accepted a plea for the lesser charge later.
He has six previous convictions spanning eight offences, including an assault in 2014 that sentenced him to 18 months in prison.
His solicitor, Stuart John, argued that police had not warned Bass about his behavior and suggested he would have ceased if warned.
Bass has been in custody since July 21.
Judge Paul Thomas KC questioned whether counsel thought Bass needed alerting not to repeatedly call the victim from a withheld number.
He emphasized Bass's obsession and persistent stalking.
Given the plea deal, the maximum possible sentence was 26 weeks.
Considering his guilty plea, Bass was sentenced to 18 weeks in prison, and due to time served and the standard release rules, he’s expected to be released immediately.
A restraining order was imposed to prevent contact with the victim indefinitely.
