Law chiefs say sorry to pop singer Nicola over stalker bungle
GIRLS Aloud star Nicola Roberts has won an apology from bungling prosecutors after they dropped a stalking case against her ex-boyfriend.
Former soldier Carl Davies, 40, received a lifetime restraining order last year and was banned from looking at the singer’s social media activity.
But Davies allegedly breached the court demand and was set to go on trial earlier this year.
On the day he was due to answer charges in court in March, prosecutors told the judge they had no evidence to offer and he walked free.
Speaking about the apology she has since received Miss Roberts, 32, also claimed that Crown Prosecution Service lawyers thought the case was “trivial” because the harassment was taking place online.
The singer said she is determined to expose “controlling, manipulative, abusive and violent” characteristics, which would help people spot the signs of stalking, and offered to teach CPS lawyers about social media.
Miss Roberts split from Davies in 2008 after 18 months because she was “fed up” with public rows, according to a report at the time.
Scared
She said his alleged behaviour since the relationship ended left her too scared to leave her windows open at night and made her hide any new relationships. Davies would follow her on Instagram to let her know “he was still watching me,” she said.
The CPS offered the apology after a decision to offer no evidence at a court hearing in March. In the letter to Miss Roberts prosecutors said that “the decision to offer no evidence in this case was wrong” and they were “satisfied there was a realistic prospect of convicting Carl Davies for breaching the restraining order”.
However Miss Roberts has been advised by her solicitor that the prosecution cannot be revived because of the way the case was handled.
She said: “You are too scared to take the dogs out for a walk because when someone plants vicious seeds you just imagine every possible outcome. This is a relationship which ended 10 years ago. I should be able to move on from Nicola Roberts with Carl Davies when the pair were still going out together an unhealthy relationship if I want to and that has not been able to happen for me.”
Davies received the lifetime restraining order in May last year at Guildford Crown Court after admitting stalking and persistent use of a public communication network to cause annoyance or inconvenience. He was sentenced to a 15-month prison sentence, suspended for two years.
During his trial the judge heard he had sent 3,000 messages, including death threats, from 35 fake social media accounts. He also bombarded her with declarations of love and sent flowers to her manager’s office. At the hearing last year the singer said the messages had brought back bad memories. “The messages he sent reminded me of all the terrible things that happened when we were together,” she said.
“It was only really last year when he started threatening my friend that I realised things couldn’t go on and I reported it to the police.”
Earlier this year a judge extended the order to include banning viewing any of Miss Roberts’ online posts.
Girls Aloud was formed in 2002 and included star Cheryl. They last went on tour in 2013.