Locations
Baron Court, Stevenage, Hertfordshire, SG1
Description
A Stevenage man has been jailed after pleading guilty at court to stalking offences and sexual communication with children.
Paul Parker, aged 48, of Baron Court, appeared at St Albans Crown Court on Friday 24 April where he was sentenced to a total of four years having previously pleaded guilty to:
- Stalking causing serious alarm or distress (32 months)
- Breach of Stalking Protection Order between 3 December 2025 and 12 December 2025 (7 months).
- Two counts of sexual communication with a child between June 2023 and May 2024 (9 months for each count to run concurrently)
The court heard how for around three years, Parker bombarded a woman – who was an acquaintance over 20 years his junior – with thousands of phone calls and text messages while pretending to be someone else, despite the victim asking him to leave her alone.
Menacing texts would describe the victim’s location and clothing, implying that he was following and watching her even when she was at home.
On one occasion the defendant was caught by the victim loitering outside her home at 1am.
While being investigated for the offence of stalking, the courts imposed a Stalking Protection Order which stated Parker must not own, possess or control more than one mobile communication device and that he had to inform police, within three days, of changes to any of the following: telephone number, serial number, IMEI number make and model of any communication device.
When police searched his address in March 2026, they discovered a mobile phone hidden in the loft which he had used to send messages to multiple people. By doing so, he had breached the conditions of the order.
Separate charges involving different victims saw Parker also charged with two counts of sexual communication with a child that occurred between June 2023 and May 2024.
The court heard how Parker had left his phone number in a public toilet in Stevenage, when it was discovered by two young girls who called it. The girls, who were both aged 12, told Parker they were 15, but instead of ceasing contact once he had this information, he bombarded them with phone calls and text messages, most often in the middle of the night.
Stevenage CID Detective Constable Hannah Lambden said:
“The defendant repeatedly asked the children to meet him for sex, which thankfully they never did, but he continued to send obscene messages. We are in no doubt that a dangerous man has been taken off the streets.
“Parker’s actions had a profound impact on the stalking victim’s life; she moved house, changed her phone number, altered the routes she walked, stopped accessing support services and seeing family members – all to avoid being contacted by Parker and out of fear of what he would do if he followed her when she was alone and they came face to face.
“We would like to praise all the victims for their bravery in supporting these investigations which have resulted in Parker’s imprisonment.”