A former police officer has narrowly avoided jail after being found guilty of stalking his wife who was having an affair.
Gavin Harper was given a two year suspended sentence for aggravated stalking after placing trackers on his now ex-wife Stephanie Glynn’s car, listening in to her conservations and taking her phone without permission.
Harper’s DIY surveillance ultimately led to tracking Ms Glynn’s car to a Screwfix car park in 2021 where he filmed and confronted her having sex with another man, Andrew McLullich.
Prosecutors told Liverpool Crown Court that Ms Glynn had suffered “obsessive, intrusive and unwanted behaviour” from Harper. While Harper claimed he filmed the encounter as he wanted “undeniable proof’ of an affair which she had persistently denied. He also claimed he wanted to pass the video to police as evidence of serving officers breaking Covid lockdown restrictions.
Sentencing, Judge David Potter said the events in February 2021 “do no credit to any of the people involved”, adding “it was rash, jealous, selfish, unprofessional and given the lock-down restrictions unlawful for Stephanie Glynn and Andrew McLullich to meet, still less to engage in sexual activity which I am sure haunts them and will continue to do so.”
The judge said he would have imposed an immediate custodial sentence on Harper for aggravated stalking if it wasn’t for the significant effect that imprisonment would have had on his elderly parents and youngest son.
Harper has additionally been given a four month curfew, a seven year restraining order stopping him from contacting the pair as well as an order to carry out 200 hours unpaid work and 20 days rehabilitation activities.
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