An online stalker who led a ‘relentless campaign of harassment’ against multiple victims has been jailed.
Alex Belfield, a former radio presenter, targeted former colleagues, a well-known celebrity and two other men who had previously objected to his hateful conduct.
After a trial at Nottingham Crown Court ,Belfield was convicted of four counts of stalking, two of which included causing alarm and distress.
Appearing at the same venue on Friday, Belfield, of Mapperley, was jailed for five-and-a-half years.
During the course of his four-week trial, the court heard how the former BBC presenter, angered by a series of workplace disputes, set about undermining the career of a former colleague by with hurtful and untrue comments directed via email, social media and via his YouTube channel.
Belfield would often copy in their more senior colleagues, leading them to experience considerable anxiety.
The 42-year-old, who represented himself during the trial but declined to give evidence in his defence, also targeted a well-known national broadcaster.
After repeatedly abusing the man on-line, he began to accuse him of stealing £1,000 of licence payers’ money from the memorial fund of a colleague.
After being blocked by his victim on social media, Belfield encouraged his social media followers to target his victim on his behalf by calling into this radio show and questioning him on air.
The man, a well-known BBC presenter, explained in court how he was subjected to an “avalanche of hatred.”
He was, he said, so concerned about Belfield’s behaviour that he kept a picture of him at his home to warn his teenage daughter to be on her guard.
Two other victims became targets after responding negatively to Belfield’s on-line vitriol.
Each of them was threatened with fictitious legal action for defamation and was warned repeatedly that rapidly accruing legal costs would lead to them losing their homes.
One was told that a private investigator had been dispatched to track down his address.
Belfield also attempted to make contact with the man’s pregnant wife – even including an image of her unborn child in a message.
Unhappy with merely harassing the man and his family, he also contacted clients of his victim’s business in order to besmirch his reputation.
Belfield was cleared of six other stalking charges, but was convicted of an alternative charge of ‘simple stalking’ against two of his victims.
Restraining orders were granted to all eight complainants in the case.
Detective Constable Janet Percival, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “People often associate stalking with physical actions, such as following or harassing somebody in the street.
“However, as this case makes clear, stalking can also take other more invasive forms.
“It can also cross into the digital realm, where emails, social media messages and videos are used as tools to relentlessly harass and intimidate victims.
“This is what Belfield did again and again to multiple people over many years.
“Everyone has a right to an opinion and a right to express that opinion forcefully if they wish, but our case has always been that what Belfield was doing went way beyond that.
“He very deliberately set out to make other people’s lives a misery – causing them very genuine fear, alarm and distress.
“I am pleased that he has now been held accountable for this actions and hope that this verdict serves as a warning to others who think they can behave in this way without consequence.
“This case involved a very large amount of evidence which documented the volume and extent of Belfield’s stalking behaviour. I am grateful to the many other officers and our partners at the Crown Prosecution Service for all the work they have put into this case.
“Finally, I would like to pay tribute to the victims in this case who have shown enormous courage and dignity in coming forward to give evidence in public.
“I sincerely hope that Belfield learns from this experience and refrains from ever acting in this way again.”
