Matthew Hardy (stalker)
Matthew James Hardy (born 1991/2)[1] is an English cyberstalker who pleaded guilty to harassing women online.[1] A native of Northwich, Cheshire, he is believed to have affected 63 victims over 11 years, making him one of the most prolific cyberstalkers in the UK.[2][3]
Stalking
[edit]Hardy began stalking in 2009 while still in school, choosing schoolmates as victims.[4] He created fake profiles on social media in attempt to befriend his victims, sometimes impersonating friends and family members, in some cases spreading rumours about them.[5]
Criminal convictions
[edit]Hardy has been arrested 10 times and voluntarily questioned three times. In October 2011, Hardy pleaded guilty to hacking the Facebook account of a former schoolmate and impersonating her; he received a restraining order, a suspended prison sentence and 250 hours of community service. He pleaded guilty to harassment and hacking of another schoolmate in 2013 and was given a suspended sentence and a restraining order. He was arrested in February 2020 and charged in March 2021.[2] He pleaded guilty to three counts of stalking with intent to cause alarm or distress, two counts of stalking without intent to cause alarm, and breaching a restraining order from 2013 which banned him from using false details on social networking sites.[6][7] He was sentenced to nine years in prison, the longest sentence handed to a cyberstalker in the UK.[3] His barrister argued that the sentence was excessive because Hardy was autistic and was incapable of understanding the impact of his actions on his victims.[8] The sentence was reduced to eight years on appeal.[9]
Podcast
[edit]Hardy was the subject of The Guardian's first standalone true crime podcast series, Can I Tell You a Secret?[10] In the six-part podcast, Guardian reporter Sirin Kale explores Hardy's motivations and the impact of his crimes on his victims.[3] It was named one of the best podcasts of 2023 by Esquire,[11] and was adapted into a Netflix documentary that was released in February 2024.
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Matthew Hardy: Stalker jailed for harassing women on Instagram". BBC News. 26 January 2022. Archived from the original on 21 June 2023.
- ^ a b Kale, Sirin (30 March 2022). "11 years, 10 arrests, at least 62 women: how did Britain's worst cyberstalker evade justice for so long?". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 31 March 2022.
- ^ a b c Kale, Sirin (28 September 2022). "What Reporting On The UK's Most Prolific Cyber Stalker Taught Me". Bustle. Archived from the original on 21 June 2023.
- ^ "'Can I tell you a secret?': The crimes of Matthew Hardy". Crime & Investigation. Archived from the original on 21 June 2023. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
- ^ Wells, Andy (27 January 2022). "Stalker created fake Instagram profiles for successful women and 'made their lives hell'". Yahoo News. Archived from the original on 21 June 2023.
- ^ Halle-Richards, Sophie; Hanlon, Tim (28 January 2022). "Catfish 'ruined' woman's life for three years 'lying to neighbour about affair'". Mirror. Archived from the original on 21 June 2023.
- ^ "Upskirting campaigner Gina Martin reveals 8-year stalking ordeal". The Independent. 10 February 2022. Archived from the original on 21 June 2023. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
- ^ Weaver, Matthew (6 October 2022). "Serial cyberstalker Matthew Hardy has jail term cut". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 21 June 2023.
- ^ Sharma, Ruchira (3 November 2022). "'Women Are Getting Blamed for Their Own Online Harassment". Vice. Archived from the original on 4 November 2022.
- ^ Farrington, Jessica (22 October 2022). "The Guardian creates podcast about stalker Matthew Hardy". Northwich & Winford Guardian. Archived from the original on 21 June 2023.
- ^ Nicholson, Tom (13 July 2022). "The 74 Best Podcasts You Can Listen to in 2023". Esquire. Archived from the original on 18 July 2022.