
Stalker called DJ 'baby girl' and said they were going to get married
Stalker called DJ 'baby girl' and said they were going to get married
Adams contacted her 60 times in three hours and believed they were in a relationship
Katrina Ridley walks the runway at the Oxfam Fashion Fighting Poverty event
(Image: 2023 Tristan Fewings/BFC )
A stalker who left a radio DJ feeling 'unsafe and paranoid' by repeatedly sending her letters, emails and gifts has been spared jail. Keaton Adams, of Englefield Green, Surrey, even turned up at the Heart radio studio in Leicester Square in central London in January this year, asking to see presenter Katrina Ridley.
The 51-year-old persistently tried to contact Ms Ridley between November 1 2024 and February 20 2025 because he believed he was in a relationship with her, Westminster Magistrates' Court heard on Tuesday. In December, 60 messages, some of which were 'delusional in nature', were sent in just three hours, prosecutors said.
One message sent to the radio station read: 'I'm going to say goodnight now baby girl… I love you always.' Adams contacted Ms Ridley on her personal email, wrote about her having 'spyware' at his home and said they were going to get married in Australia, the court heard.
In December 2024, he sent coffee mugs to the studio with 'I will always love you' printed on them. Ms Ridley said in her victim impact statement that the stalking had 'a huge impact' on her life, leaving her feeling 'unsafe and paranoid' and unable to use public transport.
Adams had pleaded guilty to one count of stalking involving serious alarm or distress. He was jailed for 16 weeks, suspended for 18 months.
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A restraining order was put in place, banning Adams from contacting Ms Ridley or her colleagues and from visiting Leicester Square.

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Man who burned Koran guilty of religiously aggravated public order offence
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Powys County Times
13 hours ago
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Man who burned Koran guilty of religiously aggravated public order offence
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The footage appeared to show Coskun back away and use the burning Koran to deflect the attacker, who is alleged to have slashed out at him again. The man chased Coskun, and the defendant stumbled forward and fell to the ground, dropping the Koran, the footage showed. Coskun was spat at and kicked by the man, the court heard. The man said: 'Burning the Koran? It's my religion, you don't burn the Koran.' Coskun had posted on social media that he was protesting against the 'Islamist government' of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who the defendant allegedly said 'has made Turkey a base for radical Islamists and is trying to establish a Sharia regime', prosecutors said. The defendant, who is an atheist, believes that he protested peacefully and burning the Koran amounted to freedom of expression, the court heard. His legal fees are being paid for by the NSS and the Free Speech Union (FSU), which said they intend to appeal against the verdict 'and keep on appealing it until it's overturned'. An FSU spokesperson said: 'If that means taking it all the way to the European Court of Human Rights, we will do so. 'Religious tolerance is an important British value, but it doesn't require non-believers to respect the blasphemy codes of believers. On the contrary, it requires people of faith to tolerate those who criticise and protest against their religion, just as their values and beliefs are tolerated.' NSS chief executive Stephen Evans said: 'The court's acceptance of the prosecution's assertion that Mr Coskun's actions stemmed from hostility towards Muslims raises serious concerns. It is essential to differentiate between prejudice or hatred aimed at individuals and hostility towards the ideologies of Islam or Islamism. 'The conviction of Mr Coskun on the grounds that his actions were 'likely' to cause harassment, alarm, or distress suggests a troubling repurposing of public order laws as a proxy for blasphemy laws. This jeopardises freedom of expression by establishing a 'heckler's veto' that incentivises violent responses to suppress views deemed offensive. 'Such an erosion of free speech is detrimental to community relations. Social cohesion is best achieved not by restricting rights but by fostering their free exercise.'


STV News
13 hours ago
- STV News
Man who burned Koran guilty of religiously aggravated public order offence
The burning of a Koran outside the Turkish consulate in London amounted to a religiously aggravated public order offence, a judge has found. Hamit Coskun, 50, shouted 'f*** Islam', 'Islam is religion of terrorism' and 'Koran is burning' as he held the flaming Islamic text aloft in Rutland Gardens, Knightsbridge, on February 13, Westminster Magistrates' Court heard last week. District Judge John McGarva delivered his verdict at the same court on Monday. Coskun was found guilty of a religiously aggravated public order offence of using disorderly behaviour 'within the hearing or sight of a person likely to be caused harassment, alarm or distress', motivated by 'hostility towards members of a religious group, namely followers of Islam', contrary to the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and section 5 of the Public Order Act 1986. Giving his verdict, District Judge McGarva said: 'Your actions in burning the Koran where you did were highly provocative, and your actions were accompanied by bad language in some cases directed toward the religion and were motivated at least in part by hatred of followers of the religion.' Coskun was fined £240, with a statutory surcharge of £96. Turkey-born Coskun, who is half Kurdish and half Armenian, travelled from his home in the Midlands and set fire to the Koran at around 2pm, the court heard. In footage captured on a mobile phone by a passerby that was shown to the court, a man approached and asked Coskun why he was burning a copy of the Koran. Coskun can be heard making a reference to 'terrorist' and the man called the defendant 'a f idiot'. The man approached him allegedly holding a knife or bladed article and appeared to slash out at him, the court heard. The footage appeared to show Coskun back away and use the burning Koran to deflect the attacker, who is alleged to have slashed out at him again. The man chased Coskun, and the defendant stumbled forward and fell to the ground, dropping the Koran, the footage showed. Coskun was spat at and kicked by the man, the court heard. The man said: 'Burning the Koran? It's my religion, you don't burn the Koran.' Coskun had posted on social media that he was protesting against the 'Islamist government' of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who the defendant allegedly said 'has made Turkey a base for radical Islamists and is trying to establish a Sharia regime', prosecutors said. The defendant, who is an atheist, believes that he protested peacefully and burning the Koran amounted to freedom of expression, the court heard. His legal fees are being paid for by the Free Speech Union and the National Secular Society. Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country