Former special constable jailed for decade-long stalking campaign against girlfriend

A former special constable was jailed for seven years after admitting to a decade-long stalking campaign against his girlfriend, including encouraging strangers to turn up at their front door and sexually assault her or demand sex. The offences spanned from June 2013 to November 2022 and were carried out while the couple lived together in Norfolk, before the defendant moved to Huddersfield, West Yorkshire.

Dunne, 36, who has since moved to Huddersfield, arranged the visits by setting up fake social media accounts that provided personal details about the woman, some accounts created in her name. In some messages, recipients—some of whom were later arrested by police—were told that his partner would like to have sex at the same time as breastfeeding her baby. To increase fear and disruption, he also persuaded them to leave used condoms in envelopes at their home, at her place of work or even on her car door handle, and he took photos of her.

Dunne admitted three stalking offences between June 2013 and November 2022 at Norwich Crown Court. Recorder Peter Guest sentenced him to six years and ten months in prison, with a 38-month extended licence. He also imposed an additional six-month term for a fraud charge linked to a promotion Dunne had secured as a security adviser for BT Open Reach, after claiming he had been a police constable for Derbyshire Constabulary between 2009 and 2014. Prosecutors noted that Dunne had never served as a police officer and had ceased being a special constable in 2011.

The judge told him: “This woman lived a life of fear for ten years. She was forced to move home and to fear for the safety of her children.” He added: “It will take years, if ever, for her to move on.” The victim, appearing emotional as she read a statement in court, described her time with Dunne as nothing short of a nightmare, saying she had lived her life in fear, felt isolated and exhausted, and that the emotional toll had been significant for her and her family, including her infant son.

During the hearing, prosecutor Jane Oldfield said the woman had no idea her boyfriend was behind the sophisticated and well-planned campaign. The victim installed security cameras at home to try to protect her family and to capture evidence. She found suspicious images and fake social media accounts on Dunne’s laptop at one point, but he convinced her it had been hacked. Dunne was finally arrested in August 2022 and tried to shift the blame by telling officers his partner’s ex-husband was responsible. After his release, he continued to stalk her.

Charlene Sumnall, who defended Dunne, told the court her client had been assessed by psychiatrists and was found to have mental health issues, including post-traumatic stress disorder stemming partly from seeing two children die in a fire when he was a special constable, which had resulted in a lack of consequential thinking. She added: “This is a man who has behaved appallingly and terrorised an individual and their wider family and friends. He appreciates that now and acknowledges that and is indeed remorseful for that.” Dunne — who was told a voyeurism charge will lie on file — was also given a restraining order banning him from contacting his victim.