Stalker cop weeps as she dodges jail for 'relentlessly' hounding ex with lies
A suspended police detective who bombarded her ex-boyfriend with abusive messages and calls during a 'relentless' stalking campaign after they split up wept in the dock as she escaped jail today.
Sue Thorpe, who worked for Northumbria Police, harassed and verbally abused surf instructor Barry Henderson, 58, when he dumped her. She turned up at his workplace and told lies to his family and friends, alleging he beat up pregnant women and had cheated on her. Thorpe, 44, also humiliated Mr Henderson in a café in front of several witnesses where he was having lunch with a friend, loudly shouting at him: 'He's a sh****r… don't trust him.'
Thorpe, a detective constable was jailed for two years, suspended for two years, for stalking, with a 10 year restraining order, banning any contact with him or any person believed to be his partner. She was given a further 12 months to run concurrently for the misuse of the police computer to obtain information about him.
Proceedings had heard how she accessed the police national computer and illegally looked up information about Mr Henderson after they split.
She had denied stalking and securing unauthorised access to the police national computer, but a jury took less than two hours to find her guilty.
Last month judge Amanda Rippon bailed Thorpe, of Whitley Bay, Tyne and Wear, but earlier warned she could be jailed when she is sentenced. The judge said: 'You should understand these are serious offences. The custody threshold is passed. A prison sentence is not likely but it is possible."
Newcastle Crown Court earlier heard how the couple met on dating site Plenty of Fish in 2014 and soon set up home together. Thorpe suffered two miscarriages and underwent unsuccessful IVF. In 2019, their relationship started to fall apart after a series of arguments.
In text messages sent before they split in July 2020, Thorpe moaned about having 'zero sex' and complained about always cleaning up after Mr Henderson.
During the campaign of harassment she is said to have called and messaged him with abusive messages, some of which accused him of cheating on her dozens of times a day.
Thorpe is currently suspended from the Northumbria force, MailOnline reported. Detective Chief Inspector Graeme Dodds, of Northumbria Police's professional standards department, said: 'Her actions were completely unacceptable.
'We can confirm misconduct proceedings are being progressed in relation to the individual, who remains suspended from duty.'
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