Ordeal of Vets’ Sweetheart as she was stalked by ex-soldier, 61
A CABARET singer dubbed “The Veterans’ Sweetheart” was stalked by an infatuated former soldier after she helped him join a choir for wounded war heroes.
Sarah Dennis, 50, started dating former Royal Engineer Alan Willetts in 2016 and helped him win a place in the Army’s prestigious Invictus Choir.
But after their two-year relationship ended, Willetts, 61, began hounding, ringing and following her.
He tracked her to her gym, stood over her as she sat in a plunge pool and followed her to a pub singing gig.
Manchester magistrates banned Willetts, who admitted stalking, from contacting Miss Dennis for two years.
He was also given a 12-month community order, fined £135 with costs and ordered to pay £125 in surcharges.
The court heard that after they began dating, Miss Dennis encouraged Willetts, who suffered from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), to audition for the Invictus Choir. But they fell out after splitting up in February this year.
Prosecutor Andrew Martin said: “The victim felt the defendant was getting involved with her too much.
“She became distressed at him speaking with her and him getting too involved in her life.”
Mr Martin said Miss Dennis told Willetts, of Bury, Greater Manchester, to “back off” but the contact continued and caused her “harassment and alarm”.
Willetts approached Miss Dennis at her gym on August 8, where she told him she no longer wanted to be in contact, the court heard. But he turned up two days later as she was due to perform at a pub in Bolton.
The next day Miss Dennis received a 1.30am voicemail message from Willetts, seeking an apology for the way she spoke to him at the pub.
Mr Martin said that on August 14,Willetts arrived and stood in front of her in a public area near her gym’s plunge pool.
Willetts was removed after another customer got involved but he left a voicemail message for Miss Dennis, saying he had contacted the police and reported an assault.
When arrested in September, he told police: “She is harassing me.”
In a statement given under her real name Denise Roscoe, Miss Dennis said she feared Willetts was trying to ruin her career.
She said: “The constant stream of messages and contact from Alan has caused me harassment and distress. It’s made me exhausted.
“I want him to leave me alone and stop contacting me ever again.”
Stephen Munton, defending, said: “He served his country but due to those experiences, now suffers with PTSD.
“They have a shared interest in charity work and singing but he found himself lost when the relationship ended in February.
“He accepts that the number of telephone calls was an element of harassment.”