Stalker who concocted fake kidnap plan after being rejected by his victim is jailed

Timothy Philip Lee Millward had become obsessed with his victim after a short time working with her at a hotel in Scarborough.

The 44-year-old fabricated a web of lies, police said, to cause untold distress to the victim and her family. He was jailed for five years and 11 months on April 22.

York Crown Court heard how Millward, of Redfield Way, Scarborough, hatched a fake kidnap ploy after she turned him down and told him she wasn't interested in a romantic relationship.

In his plan, he made it look like his victim was the one who was behind the scheme to defraud people, but after police found her safe and well, they began to investigate.

After he reported her as kidnapped and claimed to have received demands for cash, North Yorkshire Police found it was actually Millward who was behind the messages and not the victim.

At the same time, her family was being harassed from an unknown social media account. Police also traced this back to Millward.

He had also hacked into her Instagram account and taken family pictures to set up fake profiles in her name, so he could harass members of her family.

In her victim impact statement, the woman said the experience was "the worst struggle" she had in her life and she didn't know how someone could cause so much pain without physically hurting her.

A family member said his stalking and obsessive behaviour "drained the life out of the family".

Detective Constable Rachael Hughes from Scarborough Criminal Investigation Department said: “This was an incredibly complex and complicated case to unravel. The lengths Millward went to wreak havoc and cause such alarm and distress to the victim and her family were just unbelievable.

"He fabricated a false kidnap claim in an attempt to frame her for attempted fraud and went on to try and isolate her by destroying her family relationships. But unequivocal digital and DNA evidence put the phone, which was the source of all this misery, firmly in Millward’s hand.

“I’d like to thank the victim and her family for being so brave and resolute throughout the investigation and court case. I hope the sentence handed to Millward is of some comfort to them and they can all go forward to more positive times. I’d also like to thank the officers involved for their thorough police work which enabled justice to prevail.

“Finally I hope this sends a clear message to those who cause so much damage to people’s lives through stalking and harassment – we will pursue you and no matter how complicated a story you try to weave, we will unpick it, find the truth and will put you before the courts.”