An obsessive stalker has been jailed after he sent his victim lewd texts, hid in the bushes outside her home and threatened to burn her building down.
Steven Jon Hewitt, 43, met his victim on a night out last year, where they shared drinks and parted ways before he bumped into her again a week later.
They spent the evening together but things turned sour when he started sending her lewd messages and he revealed he had been to her house even though she never told him her address.
Hewitt, of Doris Wilkes House, Byker, found her address on a piece of paper.
She blocked his number and changed her phone but soon after he appeared on the doorstep of her flat block, pressed the buzzer and then hid in some nearby bushes.
When she looked out her window, he confronted her and threatened to burn down the building with her inside.
Police were called and Hewitt was arrested on suspicion of stalking in November.
He pleaded guilty at North Tyneside Magistrates' Court last month and was sentenced to 22 weeks in prison.
Hewitt already has multiple restraining orders against him, preventing him from making contact with various other women he has targeted in similar ways.
Detective inspector Keith Jewitt, of Northumbria Police’s Safeguarding Department, said: “Hewitt is a serial stalker, having targeted a number of women over the course of several years.
“We think it is imperative that we release an image of Hewitt to the public, to make women aware of his obsessive nature before he is released from prison back to the Newcastle area.”
If anyone else is concerned that they may be victim of stalking then they are encouraged to call police on 101 or visit the Northumbria Police website.
A previous version of this article stated that Hewitt 'admitted rooting through her handbag while she wasn't looking and finding a bill with her address on'. This information was based on a Police press release. The press release has since been amended to remove reference to this, as Steven Jon Hewitt has advised that he did not 'admit' to doing this. We are happy to amend the article to reflect this.
