A man who stalked his ex-girlfriend’s every move and posted naked photos of her online has been convicted after police used new technology to catch him.
Anhar Hussain, 23, from Dagenham, pleaded guilty to arson, harassment – fear of violence, dangerous driving and driving whilst disqualified and without insurance before a court on November 21.
The victim, a woman in her 20s, began a relationship with Hussain in 2020 but things broke down in March 2021 when Hussain’s abuse began.
In April 2021, he created a fake social media account in the victim’s name and started communicating with her family - something she only found out a year later when she spoke to her estranged mother.
The victim was told to leave her family home and the pair moved in to a flat in Romford where he subjected her to controlling coercive behaviour.
A Metropolitan Police statement said: “During arguments, he would shout and scream into her face, punch walls near to her, throw household objects, including a laptop in her direction, pull and push her about the house and throw her onto the sofa.”
Hussain kept possession of the property’s only set of keys at all times, keeping the house locked when he went out without her, and tracking her movements through a doorbell camera.
“On another occasion Hussain threw the victim’s clothes out of the flat and then went outside and set them on fire,” the statement added.
“The victim tried to retrieve them but he lifted her up and tried to force her into his car. She shouted loudly and he dropped her, enabling her to run away.”
After she moved out of the flat, he began calling her up to 700 times per day and threatened to throw a brick at her mother’s house, saying people “would get hurt” if she did not come to him. He also tried to persuade her to return by sending pictures of himself crying and performing housework.
But the court heard that when this failed, he began to further stalk her and once drove his car into hers repeatedly until it was in a state of disrepair.
The statement said: “It was a long ordeal for the woman, having suffered abuse of all kinds at the hands of Hussain. Her relationships with her friends and family were destroyed, her ability to work and financial prospects hindered. Most of all, moving on with life has proved more than difficult.”
The Met was able to catch up with Hussain by using analytical software, for the first time in this type of case, to map out phone signals from any given location.
This, in conjunction with other communications and travel data, allowed detectives to map out and detect Hussain’s stalking patterns up to June of this year - when he was arrested.
PC Cathleeya Kittisara, the investigating officer, said: “The victim in this case has showed sheer courage and unwavering strength throughout the past six months.
“I have the utmost respect for her and appreciate the patience and the support she has given police during this protracted enquiry. She has moved from her position of loss of faith, to now attempting to move on, with her perpetrator no longer harming her.
“Having been bailed twice, he showed no regard for our justice system and continued to harass, threaten and cause distress to the victim in every possible way.”
Hussain has been remanded in custody until sentencing on Monday December 19.
