'I struggled to get police help with harassment'

In 2021 Jane, whose name has been changed to protect her identity, moved to Guernsey from the UK for a man who she thought was the love of her life.

Jane said she had spent lots of time getting to know the man before making the decision to move to the island.

"During that time he gave me no concerns at all, my friends had met him, my family had met him and everyone had thought I'd found the one. No one would have questioned what he was capable of, " Jane explained.

But when the relationship soured five months later, she left the island and that's when the "brutal campaign" of harassment began, which she says she struggled to get help with from Guernsey Police.

She said things had begun to deteriorate the day she became engaged to him.

"I'm really grateful that I had the strength to think quite quickly that this wasn't going to work because, in the grand scheme of things, I could've wasted years on that island and I'm under no illusions that it would've got a lot worse."

Jane left the island and went travelling in an attempt to escape the harassment.

"I would receive constant messages, constant emails, there would be TikTok videos, made about me. There was one occasion, I received a 19-page email from him," she recalled.

Jane got in contact with Guernsey Police to ask for help but was told to return to the UK and speak to the police there.

"In my mind, he was a resident of Guernsey continuing to harass me, surely it should be their responsibility to nip it in the bud, but they didn't seem to think that was their duty of care," she said.

Jane eventually returned to the UK and said within a "matter of days" he had found her location through a purchase she had made on Amazon, and he arrived in the mainland to try meet her.

The day he was arrested, Jane said he left a series of voicemails becoming increasingly agitated culminating in a last one, which said that he was on his way to her.

At that point, she called Cheshire Police, which "arrived within minutes" and put a blocker on his passport.

"He was arrested within 16 miles" of her home at the time, Jane said.

He eventually pleaded guilty to harassment and was issued with a fine and a restraining order.

Jane said dealing with Cheshire Police and Guernsey Police was like "night and day".

"Guernsey Police knew that they could potentially have blood on their hands and they did nothing," she added.

"It strikes me that they're just not really interested. It's a little bit too much paperwork for them or that the laws aren't in place for them to pinpoint what he's actually doing as a as a crime."

Guernsey Police said it took "all reports of domestic abuse extremely seriously" and had a policy in place to "ensure that the priority is to make the victim safe and to pursue and prosecute offenders".

"We would like to assure the public that we do and will continue to work with other police forces to support prosecutions where the victim or offender may reside in different force areas, ensuring that the safety of the victim is the top priority," it added.

The force said it "would encourage anyone who feels that they are a victim of domestic abuse or are aware of someone who is a victim to report it to the police".

It added there was also a new domestic abuse law, which would be coming into force later this year, which the police said would "strengthen police powers", and that training for officers was taking place.

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