Boyfriend used sleeping lover’s thumb to spy on her phone
A MAN has been convicted of abusive behaviour after he used his sleeping girlfriend’s fingerprint to unlock her iphone to check up on who she was contacting.
Alexander Heavens, 24, waited until Stacey Booth had fallen asleep before using her print to gain access to texts and emails on her smartphone.
As the couple lay on her bed, Heavens placed Ms Booth’s thumb on the iphone’s home button and checked her messages – then woke her up to interrogate her on their contents.
Manchester Crown Court heard that in the final year of their six-year relationship, Heavens, from Failsworth, near Oldham, would also demand the pin code on her phone. He also bit her on the arm and bent her fingers back during arguments.
It was said their relationship soured at Christmas 2016 after he suffered bouts of paranoia due to cocaine use. Heavens admitted engaging in controlling and coercive behaviour in an intimate relationship. Rob Smith, prosecuting, said: “Miss Booth said he always had issues with his temper but had never taken things out on her.”
Mr Smith said things changed from November 2016 when Heavens started taking drugs. He then “became angry because she was spending time with her family rather than him”, he said. “After 2017 his behaviour worsened with her, particularly when he alleged that she had been with other men.”
Deferring sentence for six months, Judge Martin Rudland said: “The public needs to be aware that this sort of behaviour won’t be tolerated.”
Heavens was banned from contacting Ms Booth under a restraining order.