American travel influencer reveals horror of learning stalker who turned up at her home with rope had fled UK to continue terrorising her

Daily Mail​

12 hours ago

A travel influencer stalked by a British traffic warden who travelled to her home in Bali with rope in his suitcase has told of her two years of 'hell' trying to get police to take her case seriously.
Alexandra Saper, 33, was tormented by a 'delusional' Rob Keating who sent 'incessant and constant' messages and videos in which he shared his graphic sexual fantasies including that he would 'go 50 Shades of Grey' on her and wanted to abduct her.
He became obsessed with her posts on Instagram and booked a one way ticket to Bail, where she was living, while warning her to 'get kidnap insurance'.
He was arrested and had his passport confiscated but released on bail and got a new passport and fled to Switzerland - a country which does not have a specific anti stalking law and continued bombarding her with messages and videos.
Keating was only finally charged with stalking In November 2024 - two and a half years after she first reported him - when he posted photos of return flights to Bali with the caption 'round 2'.
Ms Saper travelled to the UK to tell a court on Friday that victims of stalking have been ignored for too long.
She said that after reporting Keating to the authorities, her account was 'diminished' and she was even told by one British police officer to 'get off' social media.
American Miss Saper, a former corporate lawyer turned social media influencer, travelled to Portsmouth to deliver her message in person.
But before she could speak Keating, 39, stormed out of the dock after declaring his trial had been a 'farce'.
He is facing jail after being found guilty of two counts of stalking involving serious alarm or distress in May at Portsmouth Crown Court.
At a hearing at the same court on Friday, Miss Saper pleaded for the consequences of Keating's stalking to be severe enough to protect other women.
In an emotional victim impact statement she said Keating was allowed to roam freely while 'the burden' fell on her to 'hide, run, and relentlessly follow up with police'.
She told the court: 'For months, I pleaded with the UK and US embassies, countless police officers across three countries, politicians, public figures, and the press to help me.
'I just wanted my life back, but he was still in my neighbourhood, roaming freely, searching for me.
'When he finally returned to the UK and was first arrested, his passport was confiscated and I felt momentary relief.
'But he was released two days later, and after I saw my case drop off and be forgotten, my emails to the department ignored, and no confirmation of any progress made in the investigation — I learned just how hard it really is for victims to get help.
'Only a few months later, he resumed stalking me and posting about me. He got a new passport and fled to Switzerland — a country with no anti-stalking laws — and continued sending messages, videos, and threats, explaining to me that in Switzerland he could evade arrest by the UK authorities, and maintain his access to me.'
She said the police told her it was 'out of their hands.' It was months before he returned to the UK and the investigation was picked up again.
Ms Saper said: 'In the two and a half years between when I first reported to the police and when they finally pressed charges, I have been forced to carry unreasonable burdens, navigate bureaucratic red tape, and muster resilience in the face of persistent obstacles to justice.
'My case was transferred between more than a dozen police officers and departments. Evidence was lost multiple times, or never passed on during transfers. Each time, it was like starting over.
'Rob even harassed the female officers assigned to my case, one of whom was removed for her protection; but after that, my case sat unassigned for months, and my emails to the police were left ignored, while he continued to freely stalk me and terrorise me.'
She said it was only after he posted images of flights to return to Bali, photos and videos of me, and the words 'Round 2' that he was finally charged with stalking.
Addressing her stalker, who had already left court, Ms Saper said: 'You should have never targeted me. When a woman blocks you it means No. I know I'm not the first but I hope I'll be the last.'
After her statement was read to the court, the traffic worker's sentencing was adjourned for psychiatric reports. He will be sentenced in October.
Speaking after today's haring, Ms Saper said police officers in both Indonesia and the UK 'diminished' her case.
The blogger said she was subjected to 'victim blaming', adding: 'They were telling me, 'well just stop posting on Instagram'.
'The UK police, they told me to just get off Instagram.
'There were so many times where we'd leave a report and then not hear anything, follow up and there was no record of the report.'
Ms Saper said her case was transferred from a Sussex police force to Hampshire police at one point, but only three pieces of evidence out of more than 200 were passed over.
'We didn't know for weeks and months, until there was a conversation where it became clear that we weren't talking about the same thing,' Ms Saper continued.
'That was horrific. That was outrageous. It was such an unnecessary delay that could have led to this case being dropped.'
Keating sent Ms Saper, pictured, a video mentioning 'the Spartan Queen kidnap show' - a nickname he had given her - the court heard
Rob Keating said a video in which he mentioned 'kidnap ' was just him being an 'idiot'
Ms Saper said there were times where Keating would harass officers assigned to the case which would result in them being removed.
The blogger said that this ultimately meant her case was 'abandoned' for months.
Keating, who lived in his sister's garage in Havant, Hants, 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'.
Ms Saper - a former lawyer who now makes money from her Instagram page 'The Wayfarer', which has more than 100,000 followers - blocked Keating on the social media platform after he shared extracts from the erotic 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.
The trial was previously 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.
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 travelled to Bali, posting a picture of the plane he was about to board with the caption 'let the games begin'.
He visited bars and restaurants just metres from her home and continued to message her, telling her 'you're never getting rid of me'.
Ms Saper was so concerned that she fled to the nearby Southeast Asian country of Laos to put distance between her and Keating.
On his return to the UK in March 2023, Keating was arrested by police who found black rope and a tie in his suitcase.
Sussex police said that because the suspect lived outside Sussex, the investigation and 'almost 200 evidence items were handed over to Hampshire Constabulary' in March 2023.
While on bail, Keating continued to stalk Saper. In November 2024 he posted a picture on his Instagram of a plane ticket from London to Bali with the caption 'Round 2'. Saper was alerted by one of her Instagram followers who monitored Keating's social media. She told police and Keating was arrested and charged with stalking.
Giving evidence during the trial, 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 said he was joking and did not think Ms Saper would take him seriously.
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.
He told the court he is a 'simp', internet slang for someone who shows 'excessive attention' to another person, and claimed he went to Bali to 'make himself available' for Ms Saper.
Keating's explanation for the rope found in his suitcase was that it came from his camera kit, used to attach a microphone stand to a tripod.
Responding to Ms Saper's criticisms, Detective Inspector Katt Green from Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary said: 'We take all reports of this nature extremely seriously.
'As court proceedings are ongoing and sentencing is due to take place on 9 October we cannot discuss detailed elements of this investigation at this time, however it's important to remember that our enquiries involved liaising with other forces and the logistics of engaging and supporting a victim who was abroad.
'There was also a prolonged period during 2024 when all parties involved were outside of the UK, which limited the enquiries that could be undertaken during this time. Charges were made in November 2024, which have led to these court proceedings.'
Sussex Police have also been approached for comment.