A woman who impersonated celebrities to attract victims online before stalking and harassing them will spend at least another year behind bars after a judge increased her sentence following an appeal.
Lydia Abdelmalek appeared in Melbourne's County Court on Tuesday where she was sentenced to four years in prison, following a lengthy appeal of her 2019 sentence of two years and eight months.
The 32-year-old, who unsuccessfully appealed both her conviction and sentence, must serve two years and eight months before she is eligible for parole.
Abdelmalek pretended to be Home and Away star Lincoln Lewis and other aliases to lure in three victims over several years from May 2011.
She then stalked and harassed her victims, as well as their friends, families and work colleagues, threatening to blackmail them by distributing thousands of intimate photos.
Abdelmalek was released on bail after launching an appeal of her conviction, but the guilty verdict was upheld in May and she was taken back into custody.
Judge Claire Quin said she warned Abdelmalek she could face a longer prison sentence if she persisted with the appeal, as she described her offending as "persistent and malicious".
"The appellant created a complicated web of online communications with the victims," she told the court.
"Those who are prepared to engage in this behaviour ... need to know that they will be punished severely."
