Ex-PC stalker who tracked wife and lover avoids jail

Gavin Harper said he wanted "undeniable proof" of the affair at a Screwfix car park

An "obsessed" former police constable who stalked his estranged wife and caught her having sex with a colleague in a car has avoided jail.

Gavin Harper, 45, confronted his wife Stephanie Glynn, 40, at a Screwfix car park in Birkenhead, where she had driven to meet Inspector Andrew McLullich.

Harper was given a two-year suspended sentence after he was convicted of stalking Ms Glynn, who is a Merseyside Police constable.

He had secretly placed a device on the underside of her vehicle to track her and then crept up to the window and filmed them.

Harper, a security officer, said he had suspected for months Ms Glynn had been having an affair with Mr McLullich before the incident on 16 February 2021.

He was found guilty of aggravated stalking which included secretly bugging Ms Glynn's car, listening to her conservations, tracking her whereabouts and taking her phone without her permission.

He was given seven-year restraining orders stopping him from contacting or approaching Ms Glynn and Mr McLullich.

Prosecutors said Ms Glynn suffered "obsessive, intrusive and unwanted behaviour" from Harper between December 2020 to February 2021.

'Sickeningly anxious'

Harper said he had wanted "undeniable proof" of the affair which he said Ms Glynn had persistently denied.

He told the court his intention was to pass the video to police as evidence of two serving officers having an inappropriate relationship during Covid lockdown restrictions.

Ms Glynn, now divorced, was said to be "sickeningly anxious" as a result of Harper's stalking and told the jury she "constantly looked over her shoulder", had changed her routes to work and had undergone counselling.

Last month a jury at Liverpool Crown Court found the father-of-two guilty of aggravated stalking

Judge David Potter said the events at Screwfix "do no credit to any of the people involved" and the incident was "rash, foolish, selfish and unprofessional" and "made worse" by Harper filming them.

He told Harper he would have faced immediate custody but for the significant effect that imprisonment would have had on his elderly parents and youngest son.

Harper, of Liscard, was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of his Army service - before he joined Merseyside Police in 2001 - and also the circumstances of his arrest for stalking.

Suzanne Payne, defending, said a pre-sentence report found he presented a "low risk" of him reoffending and a "medium risk" of harm to Ms Glynn and Mr McLullich.

She added Ms Glynn had received a written warning over her conduct in the Screwfix car park.

Harper must perform 200 hours of unpaid work and complete 20 days of rehabilitation as part of his suspended sentence.

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