A driving instructor who became obsessed with his teenage student created a TikTok account dedicated to her, went on to 'catfish' her friends and even tried to pay dark web hackers to access her social media.
Graham Mansie became 'besotted' with the girl, asked her out for drinks, then showed up outside her house after she stopped having lessons and blocked him online.
The 52-year-old said he then lost hundreds of pounds trying to pay fraudsters on the dark web to hack into her social media accounts.
While he was supposed to be focusing on teaching her to drive, Mansie heaped praise on the youngster, saying she was his "favourite", created a TikTok page dedicated to her and tried to shower her with gifts.
Mansie set up a fake Instagram account to try and contact her friends when she went to university and moved from London to York.
The driving instructor also gave another student a gift bag to pass on to the teenager, containing £65 in restaurant vouchers, a keyring with eight personalised charms and a card where he described the victim as "kind" and "amazing".
The victim became so worried about his inappropriate behaviour between last July and October she told her mother.
When the teen's mum spoke to Mansie about his actions and told him he could no longer teach her daughter, he replied: "Is it because I love her?"
After she stopped learning to drive with him, he was spotted on her street in Bromley, south east London, before quickly making off.
He even used the dark web to try to enlist the help of crooks to hack into the victim's social media accounts to see what she was up to.
Mansie visited her social media pages many times, but when the victim blocked him he lost hundreds of pounds being scammed by fraudsters who took his money to hack her accounts but never carried out his sordid requests.
In September 2021 the victim moved out of London to York to go to university, when Mansie created a fake Instagram account posing as a student to befriend her and her flatmates.
He also managed to get on to a WhatsApp group for her Halls of Residence which could be accessed through a university Facebook page.
The defendant was reported to police last October and arrested a month later.
At Bexley Magistrates' Court on Thursday, Mansie, from Bromley, pleaded guilty to one count of stalking.
Tracy Mesmain, a district crown prosecutor in the magistrates unit in CPS London South, said after the conviction: "Stalking can be deeply distressing and can have a long-term impact upon victims.
"Graham Mansie became besotted with his student.
"As a trusted driving instructor he was simply tasked with helping a teenager pass her test, but his conduct became inappropriate and worrying.
"The victim also described his actions as making her feel vulnerable.
"The prosecution case included phone evidence which showed that Mansie had accessed the victim's social media pages numerous times.
"When arrested and interviewed, he also confessed to police that he had used the dark web to try to contact people to hack into the victim's social media accounts, in order to see what she was up to after getting blocked.
"He told police officers that he had lost hundreds of pounds being scammed trying to do this and was in love with the victim."
After the hearing, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said prosecutors are "absolutely committed" to bringing stalkers to court to face justice.
Ms Mesmain added: "I would like to highlight the bravery of the victim in this case, who came to court to give evidence against her stalker, before he changed his plea on the day of the trial.
"I hope the successful prosecution of this case gives other victims the confidence to come forward and report their stalkers to the police."
Mansie will be sentenced at Bromley Magistrates' Court in May.
