Professor fired after harassing woman he met on dating app
A PROFESSOR at Imperial College lost his job after he harassed a woman he met on Tinder, a court heard.
Rob Krams, 63, was working at the London university as a bioengineering lecturer when he met Ausra Satiene on the mobile dating app.
They were in a relationship for a year and a half, taking trips across Europe and eating out at expensive London restaurants, but in January they split up after arguments about money.
Krams, originally from the Netherlands, ignored a police caution by continuing to make contact with his former girlfriend, sending her four letters and telephoning her.
The correspondence, according to Ms Satiene, included slurs about her social class that left her “anxious and scared” and struggling to sleep.
Ms Satiene said in a statement: “The harassment has made me feel very uncomfortable and has caused a lot of anxiety especially when the letters were being physically delivered to our door.
“I felt that there was no end to this. I only feel better now that we have moved to a location he has no knowledge of. I was worried he would contact my employer. After sleepless nights due to anxiety I felt very tired at work and it affected my performance.”
The court heard Krams had sent letters and phoned his expartner during June and July, but denied posting them by hand through her door. He contacted police and admitted sending a letter, but carried on after being told to stop. Ms Satiene had earlier told the court at Krams’s trial she felt she had nowhere to go when letters continued to arrive after police intervention.
“It made me feel anxious, uncomfortable and emotional. It made me feel terrible. Even after the police got involved the letters were still coming.” Krams, who is also a doctor at Hammersmith Hospital, complained he was treated like a “sugar daddy”. In November 2017, he took a job at Queen Mary University while also working at the hospital twice a week. Ms Satiene also worked at the same hospital and Krams said he wrote to her because he was fearful for his career.
He claimed she phoned him up to 30 times from withheld numbers after their break-up but not speaking when he picked up.
At sentencing, Georgia Luscombe, defending, said: “He has been punished socially and professionally. He received a letter from human resources saying that he is no longer able to continue as professor at Imperial College. Mr Krams deeply regrets his actions.” Krams, of St John’s Wood, north-west London, denied harassment but was found guilty and was sentenced to a 12-month community order with 40 hours’ unpaid work and banned from contacting Ms Satiene for two years. He was told to pay costs of £660 and the victim surcharge of £85.