Lorraine Mitchell’s ordeal began in 2007, when a stranger approached her in a car park in East Sussex, where she lives and works.
The 54-year-old thought the man may be lost, but instead he asked her on a date.
That was the first time Lorraine had seen Sherzad Salih, 38, but he knew everything about Lorraine, just like Joe Goldberg in the Netflix drama You.
The mum, who has since been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, said: “I had finished work and I was in the carpark, I had just got into my car when somebody knocked on my window.
“I thought he might need directions, but he asked me on a date.
“I thought it was a joke, I was 42 at the time and he looked in his mid-twenties.
“He gave me a rose, and told me ‘please give me a chance, I think you are gorgeous,’
“He then said he had been watching me for two years – he knew my name, where I lived, and my kids’ names.”
After that day Salih upped his campaign against Lorraine, following her, sending her inappropriate messages and calling her up to 40 times a day.
Over the next decade Salih pursued Lorraine, a counsellor, to the point where she was afraid to walk the dog alone.
She gave up wearing heels in case she ever needed to run away from him, and feared leaving the house entirely as he would be waiting in his car outside.
Caters News Agency8
Caters News Agency8Despite reporting him to the police, initially she only had a brief description of Salih, but after she managed to get his license plate she claims the police said there was little that could be done.
Lorraine, who is divorced, described her terrifying ordeal: “He was calling me saying he was watching me getting ready and asking about my underwear.
“When I hung up he would keep calling, calling me 30 to 40 times an hour.
“At one point, my cat was killed and placed underneath my neighbour’s car tires.
“He was sending me inappropriate messages all the time, he was following me at the supermarket, he would sit in his car outside my house.
“I was terrified. I was carrying a red alarm with me at all times and I became afraid to go out – I stopped wearing high heels and I was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.“I couldn’t sleep, I would get up in the middle of the night and check if the doors were locked.
“One of the main things I stopped doing was taking my dog for walks on my own.
“I avoided walking on the seafront, as that is where he chased me in his car – I love walking my dog on the seafront now.
“I also avoided shopping in the supermarkets, where he would be waiting for me.
“Every time I rejected him I worried something bad was going to happen, that he would harm me.”
She gave all her account passwords to her children in case anything happened to her, to give as evidence to the police.
Eventually Salih, from Iran, was convicted and Lorraine discovered he had 23 previous convictions.
Pleading guilty to stalking offences at Hove Crown Court in October 2017, he was sentenced to four years in jail and was handed a lifetime restraining order against Lorraine.
But he is due to be released at the end of this year, leaving Lorraine fearful he will continue his campaign of terror.
She said: “The thing with stalking is that it’s not one big thing – the police were looking at each incident as isolated events.
“But with stalking it’s about the bigger picture – on their own each event may seem unremarkable, but when you put them all together it’s a totally different picture.
“I am not a drama queen, I wasn’t overreacting as many people told me, this man turned my life upside down.
“Even though he is in prison, the memory of being stalked never leaves you and I stay vigilant.
“Right now I have a restraining order but I am worried he might go after my daughter.
“I don’t want to move because I know he will go after my kids.”
Lorraine has helped Sussex Police with training about stalking, and received an apology from the force after she complained about how her case was handled.
PC Jenna Boyd, from the force, added: "This woman has endured a gradually escalating campaign of systematic stalking by Salih.
“The experience left her terrified for the safety of both herself and her family.
"Although Salih did not overtly threaten her or attempt any physical attack, his actions have had a significant emotional impact on her, and we are glad that the court has reflected this in the sentence.
"We hope that the sentence and the Restraining Order will give Salih a dose of reality, and that the victim will now be able to move on with her life without fear of his presence in it."
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This woman said she thought her stalker ex would go to jail — but instead he got a £300 fine.
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