'Depraved' stalker who sent victim AI-generated video of herself naked is jailed

A stalker who sent his victim an AI-generated video of herself naked has been jailed.

Jakob Ward, 28, started harassing the woman using an Instagram alias, sending an image of her wearing underwear followed by a nude video - both faked using artificial intelligence.

He then sent the victim packages containing her own underwear, as well as details of her location and a request to meet.

The stalker was finally caught by police after he sent the woman a bag containing his own semen, allowing detectives to trace the DNA back to him.

The ordeal left the victim 'terrified for her life' and led her to sleep with a knife under her pillow.

Ward was jailed for 32 months at Winchester Crown Court, Hampshire after a judge described the stalking campaign as 'despicable, depraved' and 'completely incomprehensible'. 
The stalker - who was said to have shown no serious remorse - was also made subject to a 10-year restraining order.

Ward started harassing his victim by sending a string of AI-engineered images and videos having created a fake Instagram profile.

When she asked to be left alone, the stalker replied that he had items belonging to her and sent her own What3Words location.

The woman went to the police station fearing for her safety and while she was there received another message from the anonymous account saying: 'Don't worry, I'm not a threat.'

Ward later sent a package containing AI messages, her own underwear, and the bag containing Ward's semen.

A later package contained more of her underwear as well as sex toys.

In a statement read to the court, the victim said: 'The thing that frightened me most was the belief that somebody was going to break into my home, rape and kill me.'

She added: 'I slept with a knife under my pillow. I even gave my sister and my friend instructions about what to do if I killed someone.'

The woman said the sexual element had been particularly difficult, adding: 'I was denied the opportunity to consent. I feel as though I have been sexually assaulted in a way that is very difficult to explain.'

The prosecution said the offending was sophisticated, persistent and sexualised.

Ward, from Tidworth, Wiltshire, admitted stalking the woman causing serious alarm or distress, creating a purported intimate image of an adult, theft, possessing cannabis and possessing a knuckleduster and was jailed for 32 months.

Sentencing him at Winchester Crown Court, Hants, Judge Christopher Parker KC said: 'For reasons of your own which are difficult to fathom, you chose to target her with the most threatening and frightening actions.

'Your behaviour absolutely maximised the distress and fear of the victim, who had done you no harm.'

The court heard that Ward had self-declared mental-health issues and had experienced a difficult childhood.

Judge Parker KC said there was 'a very strong sexual element' to the offending, adding it would be 'wholly inappropriate' to suspend the sentence because Ward had shown no serious remorse and posed a serious risk.

He added: 'There is no evidence whatsoever of remorse, regret or upset in the pre-sentence report. You assert the victim in this case has been exaggerating the consequences of your actions. I do not accept that for one moment.'

The cannabis and knuckleduster will be forfeited and destroyed and a statutory surcharge has been imposed.