Greek hotelier jailed for stalking widow after they had holiday fling

A WIDOW who had a holiday romance was stalked by a Greek hotel manager for five months when he followed her back to Britain.

Georgios Katsikidis, 39, bombarded the grieving 54-year-old with phone calls and texts after they met in Skiathos in August 2016, two months after her husband’s death.

And when she tried to end the relationship, Katsikidis threatened to send explicit pictures of her to relatives of her dead husband, Norwich Crown Court heard yesterday.

The terrifying stalking campaign peaked in January last year when Katsikidis crept into the woman’s home in Norfolk, held her prisoner for two hours and assaulted her.

He then fled back to Greece but was arrested and extradited to the UK on a European Arrest Warrant.

In court, he admitting stalking, false imprisonment, common assault and intimidation and was jailed for 16 months.

John Morgans, prosecuting, said: “She did not want any kind of relationship at that stage. She felt it too soon after the death of her husband but he seemed very attentive and she was grateful for the distraction.”

Mr Morgans said the pair started to meet occasionally in the UK, where his ex-wife and two young children were living, but “from a very early stage she was concerned he was too intense”. Her attempts to “let him down gently” failed, he added.

“She was too afraid to be in her home not knowing where he was. She had five days of relentless contact and went to stay with friends.”

The court heard that on Jan 16 last year, the victim’s daughter left for school around 7.40am.

“Shortly afterwards she heard what she described as quiet footsteps climbing the stairs, and suddenly he was in her bedroom,” Mr Morgans said.

“His first words to her were: ‘I’m not going to hurt you’. She reached for the phone to call 999 but he took it from her. Until 10am he effectively kept her a prisoner in her own home. The assault took place as she tried to get hold of the phone. She was able to text her friend, who called the police.”

Mr Morgans added that Katsikidis continued to harass his victim even after he was bailed, by messaging and emailing her. He was “blaming her completely for the situation”, and kept asking her to drop the charges.

Robin Howard, defending, said Katsikidis had “lost his head over a love affair” and was “deeply and utterly ashamed”.

He added that he had become homeless” before “rattling around Europe for 12 days with no passport”.

Judge David Goodin also imposed a restraining order on Katsikidis, banning him from contacting his victim or being in Norfolk. He told him: “Leave this county and do not return.”

‘She was too afraid to be in her home not knowing where he was. She had five days of relentless contact’