British man is found guilty of stalking US influencer he followed to Bali with rope in suitcase after bombarding her with 'creepy' messages and kidnap threats
A 'delusional' British stalker faces jail after being found guilty of threatening to kidnap an American travel influencer and then travelling to her home in Bali with rope in his suitcase.
Rob Keating sent 'incessant and constant' messages to Alexandra Saper in which he shared his graphic sexual fantasies including that he would 'go 50 Shades of Grey' on her and wanted to abduct her.
The 39-year-old went 'from follower to stalker' after becoming obsessed with her posts on Instagram, booking a one way ticket to the tropical Indonesian paradise while warning her to 'get kidnap insurance'.
He visited bars and restaurants just metres from her home and continued to message her whilst she was in Bali, telling her 'you're never getting rid of me'.
Ms Saper - a former lawyer who now makes money from her Instagram page 'The Wayfarer' which has more than 100,000 followers - told the court she fled the country because she was so 'terrified' he would find her.
In a video about her ordeal, posted at the time, Ms Saper also said she felt she was being 'hunted like prey'.
On his return to the UK in March 2023, Keating was arrested by police who found black rope and a tie in his suitcase.
Keating told police in an interview that he was not sexually attracted to Ms Saper, but said that 'she had shown an interest in him and there could be something there' between the two.
In videos he often referred to the influencer as his 'Spartan Queen', a nickname he had given her.
He continued to stalk Ms Saper between September and November 2024, at which point he lived in Horsham in West Sussex.
Keating posted a picture of a plane ticket from London to Bali with the caption 'round 2' on his Instagram in November.
Keating was subsequently arrested.
The traffic worker was found guilty of two counts of stalking involving serious alarm or distress on Wednesday afternoon at Portsmouth Crown Court after a jury took just two hours to convict him.
Judge Michael Bowes KC told Keating a prison sentence was 'inevitable'.
Ms Bull had described Keating as 'indulging' in a 'wilful self delusion' involving a 'one dimensional' version of the influencer as he 'moved from follower to stalker'.
She told jurors: 'He began to indulge in wilful self-delusion, all those genuine emotions he felt from following was not enough,' she said.
'The person he started fantasising about was entirely one dimensional, they are a character he has never met.
'It is her job to make people feel better about themselves but that is just one part of Ms Saper.'
The prosecutor added: 'When Ms Saper's generic posts were not enough for him he wanted to take it to the next level.
'What he wanted was her attention on him.'
She continued: 'Her job is to appeal to a wider audience and he knows that, this is a wilful delusion.
'Does this justify his behaviour? He provides himself with an excuse, he tries to convince himself Ms Saper is trying to contact him, it is just his fantasy.'
The traffic worker, who lived in his sister's garage in Havant, Hampshire, first contacted Ms Saper on Instagram in July 2022 with a 'weird and creepy' message to which the influencer responded 'dude, why are you following me if you don't like my content?'
She blocked Keating on the social media platform after he shared extracts from the erotic S&M novel 50 Shades of Grey.
However, he then began bombarding her with videos and messages over email and used another profile to continue viewing her posts, which he believed were secret messages to him.
Ms Saper tried to block his emails too but that just sent them to her spam folder.
The court was shown over an hour of footage from these videos in which Keating told Ms Saper to get 'kidnap insurance' and that he was going to 'spank' her.
He told her she was 'allowing him' to 'run with it' regarding his contact with her, but added: 'Either that, or you're not interested and not watching these videos and I've lost my mind or something.'
In a video from December 2022, Keating said: 'You're going to have to reply to me eventually - there's talk about coming to Bali to get you.'
In February 2023 he did travel to Bali, posting a picture of the plane he was about to board with the caption 'let the games begin'.
Ms Saper was so concerned that she fled to the nearby Southeast Asian country of Laos to put distance between her and Keating.
Giving evidence at court, the influencer said she 'didn't think' he would actually make the trip to the tropical island.
'I blocked him on everything and never responded, so that was a pretty clear indication of not wanting contact,' Ms Saper added.
'I was aware that he was talking about coming to Bali, but I didn't think it would actually happen.
'I shared because I wanted my life back, there was nothing I could do staying in hiding,' she said. 'I was sick, I couldn't eat, I was depressed.'
In his own evidence Keating had tried to claim the kidnap threats were just 'playful ridiculousness' and that the ordeal had had 'no adverse effect' on Ms Saper.
He tried to tell the court that because of the Anchorman memes on his Instagram profile there was no way she would take him seriously.
He will be sentenced at a later date.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
4 hours ago
- The Guardian
Man killed wife in stabbing attack as she walked baby in Bradford, court told
A man who killed his estranged wife in a ferocious attack in Bradford while she was pushing a pram stabbed her numerous times in the head, neck and body, a court has heard. Habibur Masum, 26, killed Kulsuma Akter after tracking her down to a women's refuge where she was living. She had moved out after suffering threats and attacks from him at their home in Oldham, a jury at Bradford crown court was told. Masum, who pleaded guilty to manslaughter in a hearing last week but denied a charge of murder, is accused of stalking, threatening and assaulting Akter over a period of months, eventually stabbing her multiple times outside a shop at about 3pm on Saturday 6 April last year. Akter, 27, was pushing their seven-month-old baby in a pram near where she had fled 'to escape his violence, to escape his jealousy, to escape his controlling behaviour' when she was approached by Masum, said the prosecutor Stephen Wood KC. In CCTV footage played to jurors, who were warned of its graphic and distressing nature, Masum could be seen approaching and grabbing Akter who was dressed in a black coat and black hijab. The footage showed Masum brandishing a knife from within his padded jacket and using it to repeatedly stab Akter, as an onlooker screamed. In the video, Akter fell to the ground and the pram rolled away from her, while Masum stood over her continuing his attack, as the screaming continued. In court, Masum, wearing a blue T-shirt and grey jacket, left the dock because he did not want to watch the footage of the stabbing. Wood said Masum was 'rational and calculating' that day, and had got on a bus and put his phone on airplane mode to stop it being tracked. A three-day hunt was subsequently launched and Masum was arrested outside Stoke Mandeville hospital in Buckinghamshire, where he saw doctors for lockjaw. Jurors were shown CCTV footage of him inside the hospital, with a changed appearance after shaving off his beard and buying new clothes, as a police appeal played on the BBC News channel in the hospital waiting room, in the early hours of 9 April. The jury was told how Masum had previously threatened to kill Akter and her brothers on a number of occasions. In an incident in November 2023 while she was on maternity leave from her job in a bakery, police were called after Masum was accused of attacking Akter, which the prosecution described as a 'chilling prediction of what he was to do in April of the following year'. The court heard how he put a knife to her throat and threatened to kill her while she was holding their baby. The jury was shown an image of Akter with a bruise below her left eye, which he told police she had inflicted on herself. A social worker had arranged for Akter to be moved to a different refuge, which was due to happen two days after she was killed. The jury heard that Masum was expected to say he had lost control but these were 'fake defences' of a man who could not face up to what he had done, Wood said. Masum denies stalking, attacking and murdering Akter. The trial continues.
The Sun
6 hours ago
- The Sun
I am UK's most-trolled influencer, mums tell me to kill myself & say I'm too fat to live – I attempted suicide over it
AS SHE uploads her latest makeup tutorial Miah Carter, braces herself as streams of comments come flooding in. Of the thousands of messages the 22-year-old will receive, she knows at least half will be from vile trolls branding the 22 stone influencer 'disgusting' and even telling her to kill herself. 7 These messages - coming in by the dozen - are horrific. But sadly for Miah this is not a one-off. 'I must be one of the most trolled influencers in Britain,' she tells us. 'The hate almost broke me, but I am determined not to let it get to me. 'I am subjected to a new 'toxic high' of brutal 'troll targeting' every day. No one should have to live with this.' Miah says there seems to be no consistency to her trolls who she says range from just six to people in their 40s. 'I have had primary school aged children and mothers tell me to kill myself,' she says. 'It got so bad I tried three times to take my own life. If it hadn't been for my partner and mental health professionals, I would be dead. 'More must be done to protect people like myself online.' Bullied on council estate Miah lives in Reading, Berks with her boyfriend of eight years, Marley 23, a bricklayer. She grew up watching other people's lives on social media and found it an 'escape'. Trolls tell me I'm 'punching' with my hot husband & constantly ask why he's with me, but size isn't everything 'Like most people my age I have been active on social media since I was a child,' she says. 'I grew up in a council house on a rough estate and was bullied for being overweight. 'I was a big child, my dad is bodybuilder and big-boned, I was always plus size. 'I was wearing women's clothing in primary school. I was mixed race and hated for being overweight, obese and different. 'School bullies loved trying to physically assault me or verbally attack me. 'Watching other people's lives on social media was an escape.' Miah left school at 16 and studied acting at college before starting work on the makeup counter at a local Boots store. 7 7 'I was a size 24 and weighed 22st,' she says. 'I am good at doing makeup and good at selling the best makeup products for a person's skin.' Miah admits she was determined to make it as a social media influencer and in March 2020 at the start of lockdown began posting makeup tutorials on TikTok. 'I quit my job and gambled it all on social media success,' she says. It wasn't until September 2020 when Miah shared a post of herself crying about being unhappy with her weight, she went viral for the first time. 'I posted a video with no makeup, crying and upset about my size, weight and looks,' she explains. 'I didn't expect it to get a reaction and was shocked when it did.' Within 24 hours Miah had gained 10,000 followers and within a week she had another 50,000 fans. 'People praised my honesty and realness which is a rarity online,' she says. 'But there was an element of people wanting to see other people suffer and fix what was upsetting them.' The increased interest in her account prompted Miah, who at the time was a size 24-26 and weighed 22 stone, with a BMI of 50.5 to focus on losing weight and sharing that journey with fans. 'I used the TikTok fashion challenge to lose weight which is targeting your weight loss to fit into a favourite pair of jeans or dress you were too big for,' she says. Imagine being trolled by mums and kids in primary school. It was soul destroying Miah Carter 'I ate healthy lean meats and fruit and vegetables.' Miah posted updates on her weight loss, shared her thoughts, her ups and downs and fan favourite makeup tutorials. 'I was very honest, and my followers applauded that and with their support I lost four stone,' she says. When she reached 18st Miah admits she was hit by the realisation that she wasn't being authentic to her body type. 'I decided to be what I wanted to be and post about plus size positivity,' she explains. 'I could spend all my life trying to be the 'super thin' girl and hate myself or be the 'Miah girl.' 'That year I chose to be the 'Miah girl.'' When Miah hit 200,000 followers in January 2022, the trolling increased dramatically. 'I'd post a video and within 24 hours the trolls had gathered,' she says. 'I was told to kill myself and that I was so fat I didn't deserve to live. 'A six-year-old told me to kill myself. It started a rapid decline in my mental health.' Miah also lives with a skin condition known as Acanthosis Nigricans which causes her skin pigmentation to darken around her mouth and neck and found herself targeted for her suffering. She explains: 'The haters attacked my skin condition. I was told I was dirty and 'needed to wash.' 'I was told I was 'disgusting,' a 'waste of space' and a' bad example'. 'I was even targeted with racist abuse, the haters had no limits to how much vitriol they spewed at me.' Miah says many of the trolls were women and even mothers. 'Imagine being trolled by mums and kids in primary school. It was soul destroying,' she says. Within months Miah explains she had tried to take her life on three separate occasions. She admits: 'I was broken by the hate. I was just trying to share my life and be positive.' With the help of mental health professionals the 22 year old slowly recovered. WHAT IS THE UK LAW ON TROLLING? Trolls love to use public platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to sew the seeds of abuse. If you're getting horrible messages to your private inbox that's not trolling, it's bullying. Online bullying has grown by 88 per cent in just five years, with thousands of children and teenagers being targeted. But just because you have a Twitter account, doesn't mean you should have to put up with it. In October 2016, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) introduced new laws that could see those who create 'derogatory hashtags' or post 'humiliating' Photoshopped images JAILED. Inciting people to harass others online, known as virtual mobbing, is among the offences included in the guidance. Baiting – when someone is humiliated online by being branded sexually promiscuous – is also mentioned in the guidance. The CPS also announced the launch of a hate crime consultation, issuing a series of public policy statements centred on combating crimes against disabled people, as well as racial, religious, homophobic and transphobic hate crime. Director of Public Prosecutions Alison Saunders said: 'Social media can be used to educate, entertain and enlighten, but there are also people who use it to bully, intimidate and harass. 'Ignorance is not a defence and perceived anonymity is not an escape. Those who commit these acts, or encourage others to do the same, can and will be prosecuted.' Some people worry that the new guidelines on social media pose a threat to freedom of speech. But Miah credits her boyfriend, Marley who she met when she was 15, with being the inspiration she needed to live again. 'We were sitting on a bus one day and I was crying looking at the comments,' she says. 'He told me to ignore those people and to 'live my dream.' He was right. 'It was life changing.' Miah has had 'live my dream' tattooed on her arm and said that show of love from Marley was what she needed to stand up to haters. 'I used to spend hours deleting trolling comments,' she says. 'Often, I couldn't keep up with the hate. I'd delete one comment and another would pop up. 'Instead, I decided to ignore the trolls. To let the comments stay. I was not going to validate the haters by spending my time deleting what that'd written.' Miah also realised trolls actually helped her to earn money. She says: 'It's a weird situation. The more people who watch your videos the more you earn. 'If you are trolled the social media algorithms notice the 'peaked interest' and feed more potential followers and yes potential haters to you. 'I realise the haters' hate, was actually in a weird way, paying off.' A study by Avast, an international consumer brand trends company discovered trolling is on the rise. In Britain almost two-thirds of 16–24-year-olds or a staggering 64% admitted they have trolled someone else online. While studies found that impacted up to 5% of British internet users who found themselves victims of cyber bullying A 2017 Ofcom study reported that 1% of UK internet users experienced online trolling with that number increasing to 5% among Gen Z or 16-24 year olds. While in the year ending March 2023, more than 847,000 children aged 10 to 15 in England and Wales had experienced online bullying behaviors Miah, a Gen Z member, reported the hate she experienced to social media website companies but admits there is very little they could do. 'There are no universal global laws against hate or hate crimes which trolling is,' she says. 'People use fake profiles or nameless profiles. I found many people who used established platforms, but a reprimand doesn't stop their 'free speech.' In February 2025 Ofcom launched new draft guidance aimed at improving the experience of women and girls online. Dame Melanie Dawes, Ofcom's chief executive, aims to produce a "proper blueprint" for protecting women and girls online if tech first adopts it. 'I have shared my online bullying with a tech firm, but they could do nothing,' Miah says. 'The draft could work but only with international support and tough penalties. 'It's commendable but my experience shows without global agreement nothing will change. 'There is nothing the police can do, and we need to. 'That doesn't mean trolling is OK or acceptable, 'It means people like me have to endure a terrible toxic level of hate which increases daily.' Miah now has more than 3.3million followers on TikTok alone and has amassed 123.3 million in likes. The 22-year-old admits her success has been life changing saying it has allowed her to treat herself and her partner to holidays and herself to designer goods. In October 2024 Miah revealed she was to undergo a gastric sleeve surgery free on the NHS. 'I had put on weight and crept up to 32st,' she says. 'I was working hard and dealing with the hate made me comfort eat. "I had let the abuse have a physical side effect of trolling. "It undid all the work I had done losing weight when I first started on social media.' Miah underwent the NHS procedure at Kings College in London in October last year. 'I shared everything on social media and even though I was losing weight the haters have continued to attack me. Miah now weighs 22 stone and is a size 18-20. 'I feel healthier, happier, and re-inspired,' she says. 'Every day I get messages from fans all over the world. They thank me for having the guts to put myself out there on social media. 'I get praised for my confidence, my makeup looks, and my positive approach to life.' The 22-year-old now boasts deals with Charlotte Tilbury, Lancome and Maybelline and refuses to let the haters hate. 'You have to create your own tribe and be loyal to it,' she explains. 'The trolls, the haters, the so-called keyboard warriors are white noise. They are little people with little ideas. 'I may be one of the most trolled women in Britain; however, I know it has made me stronger, tougher, and more determined to stand up for people who cannot stand up for themselves.' If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this article, please call the Samaritans for free on 116123. 7 7 You're Not Alone EVERY 90 minutes in the UK a life is lost to suicide It doesn't discriminate, touching the lives of people in every corner of society – from the homeless and unemployed to builders and doctors, reality stars and footballers. It's the biggest killer of people under the age of 35, more deadly than cancer and car crashes. And men are three times more likely to take their own life than women. Yet it's rarely spoken of, a taboo that threatens to continue its deadly rampage unless we all stop and take notice, now. That is why The Sun launched the You're Not Alone campaign. The aim is that by sharing practical advice, raising awareness and breaking down the barriers people face when talking about their mental health, we can all do our bit to help save lives. Let's all vow to ask for help when we need it, and listen out for others… You're Not Alone. If you, or anyone you know, needs help dealing with mental health problems, the following organisations provide support: CALM, 0800 585 858 Heads Together, HUMEN Mind, 0300 123 3393 Papyrus, 0800 068 41 41 Samaritans, 116 123
The Independent
10 hours ago
- The Independent
Japanese soldiers injured in Okinawa US military base explosion
Four Japanese soldiers sustained finger injuries in an explosion at a storage site for unexploded wartime ordnance at a US military base in Okinawa. The soldiers were working at an Okinawa prefecture facility storing unexploded ordnance found on the island, a site of intense fighting during World War II. The Self Defence Force (SDF) is investigating reports of the explosion, which occurred at or near Kadena Air Base, involving a team specialising in handling unexploded ordnance. Authorities are working to determine the cause and exact location of the accident. Unexploded wartime bombs remain a hazard in Japan, with a similar incident occurring in October when a US bomb exploded at a commercial airport, disrupting flights.
