Shrewsbury woman, 21, jailed for impersonating a police officer and stalking her partner

Victim Mitchell Lloyd was sent emails telling him when and where he could go and who he could see, a court heard.

His life was manipulated and controlled and his social life was severely restricted and had believed the instructions he was given were genuine.

But Lauren Adderley, of Sundorne Crescent, had created the fake police officers’ identities which Mr Lloyd, then aged 18, understood were investigating an alleged sex offence against the defendant.

The former hospital trust administrator also created two fictitious female friends to further criticise Mr Lloyd when he was known to have seen other women.

Adderley was jailed for a total of nine months having admitted an offence of stalking and a charge of impersonating a police officer.

In addition Recorder Peter Rouch QC imposed an indefinite restraining order on Adderley not to contact Mr Lloyd, or Michael Turner, one of his close friends.

Adderley will also have restricted use of social media and the history on any internet device must not be deleted.

Recorder Rouch, sitting at Shrewsbury Crown Court, told Adderley he did not know what had been in her mind when she deliberately used the persona of a police officer to control the victim’s life

“For two years he was being told when he could go out and where he could or could not go and who he could or could not speak to or associate with any girlfriends,” he said.

“He was told if he did not abide by what he was told there would be sanctions and financial penalties.”

He said that Adderley had also created fictional female friends online to exert further control over him.

“You affected the way he lived his life for over two years for your own benefit, whatever they may have been,” he said.

Mr Paul Smith, for Adderley, said that the victim may have been naive but this did not diminish what his client had done.

Adderley and her victim initially had a relationship in 2014 – but she plotted against him when he decided they should split.

Mr Lloyd, now 22, was asked to provide a statement in support of Adderley after she told him she had been a victim of a sexual offence.

Following a works Christmas party he went home with a woman friend and later received an email from an officer named ‘Robert Hay’ saying that he was ‘angry because Adderley was ‘upset’.

Prosecuting barrister Mr Roberts said there was then a pattern of behaviour with emails being sent reprimanding Mr Lloyd over anything that had upset the defendant.

He said the victim was sent a list of public houses that he should not attend on Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays or Sundays, which were the ones that Mr Lloyd and his friends generally used.

“He abided by this, believing it was a legitimate order and he was also banned from speaking to female work colleagues,” said Mr Roberts

There was also an instruction from ‘Robert Hay’ banning Mr Lloyd from visiting his mother with his young daughter.

Mr Roberts said there was severe impact on his life and a threat of ‘sanctions’ which he believed because of the use of ‘official’ terms.

Later Adderley introduced two other officers a ‘Darren Clark’ and ‘Elaine Thomas’ who was said to be a senior officer who asked Mr Lloyd for ‘in depth’ details of his relationship with the defendant.

There was also two female ‘friends’ sending emails to Mr Lloyd objecting to the way he was causing upset to the defendant.

Mr Roberts said in December last year Mr Lloyd wanted to start a relationship with a girl he had met and Adderley had said she intended to self-harm or kill herself.

There was an email from ‘Robert Hay’ telling him to “cut off all ties” with the girl and that the police would be ‘monitoring everything you do’.

In a victim statement Mr Lloyd said he felt “pressured and blackmailed”.

Jason Corden-Bowen, District Crown Prosecutor and Domestic Abuse Lead with West Midlands Crown Prosecution Service, said: “Lauren Adderley created a complicated fiction of multiple fake profiles interacting with each other to her own satisfaction and reason. She used this sophisticated catfish style behaviour to completely manipulate the victim’s life, dictating when he could go out, where he could go and controlled his social interaction with other people for over two years.

“The impact her actions had on the victim’s life cannot be understated and I would like to pay tribute to him for helping bring Adderley to justice.

“We encourage anyone exposed to behaviour like this to report the matter. The Crown Prosecution Service views offending like this with the utmost gravity and will work to support you throughout the prosecution process. Please remember that any official correspondence with criminal justice partners should be through official channels such as secure e-mail.”