Cambridge stalker who threatened to burn his ex is jailed

Liviu Groparu "persistently" stalked and harassed his former girlfriend, police said

A man who repeatedly stalked his ex, set fire to her car and threatened to burn her, has been jailed.

Liviu Groparu, 38, of Peveral Road, Cambridge, pretended to be someone else after the pair split up, in order to frighten her, police said.

During what they called Groparu's "campaign of harassment", officers had to take his victim to a safe house.

At Huntingdon Law Courts, he was found guilty of stalking, arson and criminal damage and jailed for three years.

Groparu had denied all charges, but on Wednesday a jury convicted him. He was also handed a five-year restraining order by the judge.

Cambridgeshire Police said the victim started receiving a "barrage" of threatening messages from numerous unknown phone numbers and Facebook accounts, just days after her relationship with Groparu ended in November 2022.

Groparu told her he was also being targeted and police said the woman believed the abuse must have been coming from "a previous partner from years back".

'Mutilated for life'

On 8 December, 2022, the victim received a message which told her she had a surprise outside - and she found her car's tyres had been slashed.

Shortly after, she received another message which said she had destroyed Groparu's life, that the tyre incident was "a warning" and the messenger threatened to burn her "without hesitation" if she went to the police.

The victim's parents also received a message which suggested their daughter would be "mutilated for life" and "no one would love her anymore".

Later that day, the victim's car was set alight in a car park.

Calls traced back

Police said following the arson attack and campaign of harassment, officers took the woman to an undisclosed safe place.

Their investigations revealed that Groparu was the perpetrator, with all the calls and messages traced back to him.

Det Sgt Kenny Reeves said: "Groparu's actions left his victim feeling frightened and it was a traumatic experience for her and her family to go through.

"Groparu manipulated the victim so he could persistently stalk and harass her and believed this would enable him to frighten her into rekindling the relationship."

He said that stalking could be "a terrifying experience and leave victims feeling isolated and frightened" and encouraged victims to contact the police.