Stalker who harassed Manchester student is jailed

A filmmaker who stalked a fellow student and bombarded her with messages threatening to kill and harm her for three months has been jailed.

Riagain Grainger admitted stalking his 21-year-old victim when the pair studied together in Manchester.

He began sending a barrage of messages after their friendship deteriorated, Greater Manchester Police said.

The 22-year-old was jailed for two-and-a-half years at Manchester Crown Court.

Grainger, of Trillick in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, pleaded guilty to a charge of stalking involving serious alarm and distress.

He started sending the woman threatening messages as well as images of her home from several anonymous accounts from September 2019, police said.

Grainger, who had been working as filmmaker, was also seen near the victim's address on several occasions.

The victim said in a statement given to the court how Grainger had left her with "constant nightmares about him attacking me, hurting me".

She said: "Every time I would block an account, within five minutes, there would be a new one.

"I would wake up and have several different accounts messaging me, with multiple messages. I could barely have a chance to breathe before there would be another."

The unwanted attention resulted in her having panic attacks everywhere she went, she said.

"It wasn't just the fear of getting a message, it was the fear of what those messages said. It tore my confidence away.

"I never felt safe. I still don't feel safe. Even now, every single night I am woken up by him. Every single night he is torturing me again."

Grainger was also handed an indefinite restraining order.

Det Con Thomas Small said: "Everyone has the right to live their life without fear and harassment, and Grainger made that impossible for this young woman."

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