Driving instructor who was 'besotted' with Yorkshire student paid fraudsters to hack into her social media

“Besotted” Graham Mansie, stalked his victim over a four-month period between July and October last year. He also asked her out for drinks, showered her with unwanted gifts and even turned up at her university halls in York.

He found her and her flatmates on WhatsApp by posing as a male first-year student. He also lost hundreds of pounds trying to pay dark web fraudsters to hack into her social media accounts and see what she was up to.

While he was supposed to be focusing on teaching her to drive, Mansie heaped praise on the youngster, saying she was his “favourite”.

The driving instructor also gave another student a gift bag to pass on to the teenager containing a keyring with eight personalised charms and a card where he described the victim as “kind” and “amazing”.

The victim eventually became so worried about his inappropriate behaviour she told her mother but he carried on stalking her. He was only arrested after turning up in York.

Mansie, from Beckenham in South East London, was reported to police last October and arrested one month later.

He pleaded guilty to one count of stalking at an earlier hearing last month. His eight week jail term was suspended for a year.

He was told to complete 30 rehabilitation days and visit the Stalking Threat Assessment Centre to get help.

He was also banned from contacting the victim for the rest of his life and told to pay the court £300 in costs and a £128 victim surcharge.

Bromley Magistrates Court was told he has already breached his bail conditions twice by contacting her on Instagram and WhatsApp.

On the second occasion he sent her a message saying “you have killed me” after a report of his plea hearing appeared in the media.

The victim, who has since turned 18, said in an impact statement which she read out from behind a screen in court: “His crimes have affected me mentally and physically. I am scared and think about it every day. What worries me most is the uncertainty of not knowing what he will do as he has come to York to try and find me.

“I have stopped wearing my coat and cut my hair as he complimented me on them both. I often can’t sleep and feel very vulnerable as I have moved away from my family.

“I am scared he will come and break into where I live. His message on April 22 left me distressed and upset as I worried about whether he would continue breaching his bail.

“I am worried he will return to my university accommodation and am very worried for my safety. The people in my university accommodation have been affected by this. They are absolutely petrified and worried about him turning up.

“I have missed two weeks of teaching and it has negatively impacted my studies and my mental health. I have lost my appetite and doctors are concerned about my weight and eating."

Denise Clewes, prosecuting, said the pair met in 2020 and their contact was initially normal until she started lessons again in April last year as the lockdown eased.

She added: “He described her as his ‘favourite’. He created a TikTok account with a love heart emoji. He made comments about wanting to be in a relationship with her and talked about going for drinks.

“He created an Instagram account which contained posts such as ’30 days until I see you.’ She realised it was him and he said ‘ignore me, it was silly.' On July 16 her friend had her driving test. He gave her eight items personal to her.

“He joked about having a file on her. She told her mum. He said in a message to her mum who wanted him to stop teaching her ‘is it because I love her?’ In September 2021 she moved to York. He managed to join a WhatsApp Group for her halls of residence with a profile for an 18-year-old boy.

“He befriended all her hall mates. He used the dark web to ask people to hack into her private messages to see what he was doing. He lost hundreds of pounds trying to do this. On October 31, 2021 he travelled to York by train. He walked outside her halls of residence but did not go inside.

“Her dad called him saying ‘you are a pervert’. He responded ‘I love your daughter, she is 18.’ Her dad called police and the defendant was arrested on 3 November.”

In mitigation his lawyer Piers Kiss-Wilson said his client is remorseful and has no previous convictions.

He added: “He completely misinterpreted platonic friendly interaction by her.”

District Judge Venessa Lloyd told him: “Your behaviour caused a great deal of distress, not just to your victim but to her parents and fellow students. She does not return your affections. You are shaking your head now, I hope you do accept that.

“The last message you sent her did seem to imply things were her fault. None of it was her fault. There is no need for you to ever have contact with her. She is just beginning her adult life and it doesn’t include you.”

After he was found guilty last month, Tracy Mesmain, a district crown prosecutor in the magistrates unit in CPS London South, said after the conviction: “Stalking can be deeply distressing and can have a long-term impact upon victims.

“Graham Mansie became besotted with his student. As a trusted driving instructor he was simply tasked with helping a teenager pass her test, but his conduct became inappropriate and worrying.

“The victim also described his actions as making her feel vulnerable. The prosecution case included phone evidence which showed that Mansie had accessed the victim’s social media pages numerous times.

“When arrested and interviewed, he also confessed to police that he had used the dark web to try to contact people to hack into the victim’s social media accounts, in order to see what she was up to after getting blocked.

“He told police officers that he had lost hundreds of pounds being scammed trying to do this and was in love with the victim.”

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said prosecutors are "absolutely committed" to bringing stalkers to court to face justice.

Ms Mesmain added: “I would like to highlight the bravery of the victim in this case, who came to court to give evidence against her stalker, before he changed his plea on the day of the trial.

“I hope the successful prosecution of this case gives other victims the confidence to come forward and report their stalkers to the police.”