16 hours ago
Dangerous stalker back behind bars after Instagram post
Dangerous stalker back behind bars after Instagram post
Stalker Neal Hancock has made his victims' lives "hell"
Neal Hancock
(Image: South Wales Police )
A "dangerous" stalker is back behind bars after trying to contact one of his victims on social media. Last year Neal Hancock was jailed for breaching a restraining order following a lengthy and sinister campaign of harassment against three people.
Now Hancock is back in prison after breaching the restraining order again, this time by approaching one of his victims on Instagram something he is prohibited from doing.
In an interview with Walesonline last year, Hancock's victims bravely spoke out to detail the devastating impact his behaviour was having on their lives.
Bethan Simms from Port Talbot described how the defendant would constantly bombard her with messages on Facebook, creating new accounts every time she blocked him. Hancock then began stalking her in person as well as online, and also started stalking Bethan's mother Kathryn.
The defendant would message the women detailing exactly where they were and what they were doing when they were out and about, and he told Bethan that he knew she had children and he described them to her in detail.
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The stalking of Bethan went on for more than four years and became so bad she felt scared to leave her house and she had to tell her children's school and show them pictures from social media of what her stalker looked like in the hope that staff would recognise him if he was seen near the school.
It then emerged the daughter and mother were not Hancock's only victims when a mutual friend introduced them to Carl Mallon, someone who had known of the defendant in their teenage years.
In Carl's case what began as homophobic abuse and name-calling turned into stalking which continued for a much longer period than it did for Bethan. It crippled Carl to the point he left his job and moved house. You can read our interview with the victims here - "Our stalker has made our life hell for years"
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Neal Hancock, aged 39, previously of Lingfield Avenue, Port Talbot, but now of Ambassador Hotel, The Parade, Neath, pleaded guilty to breaching a restraining order by sending a message to Bethan Simms on Instagram when he appeared at Swansea Magistrates Court. The defendant was sentenced to 12 weeks in prison.
Speaking after the sentencing South Wales Police inspector Jared Easton said: "Neal Hancock is clearly a dangerous individual who refuses to learn his lesson and has caused all manner of trauma for his poor victim. His behaviour towards this victim has been ongoing for several years now. It is completely unacceptable, and nobody should have to put up with a prolonged campaign like this."
