Detective stalked ex-partner and falsely accused him of being a paedophile

Sue Thorpe stalked her ex partner and made false accusations while she was a detective (Pictures: ncjMedia Ltd/North News & Pictures Ltd)

A Northumbria Police detective stalked her former partner and falsely accused him of being a paedophile and assaulting her.

Sue Thorpe, 46, also accused the man of cheating on her, sent abusive texts, voicemails and emails, tried to damage his surfing business and used the Police National Computer to look him up.

He said she had sought to ‘assassinate me both personally and professionally’, Newcastle Crown Court heard.

Thorpe, formerly of Whitley Bay, but now living on a campsite, was sentenced to two years suspended for two years and given a 10-year restraining order for stalking and misusing the police computer to facilitate the stalking.

Matthew Hopkins, prosecuting, said: ‘The prosecution case is that between June 2020 and September 2021, she sent him unwanted voicemails, texts and emails, many of which were abusive in their content.

‘She also accused him of cheating on her, being violent towards her during their relationship and, perhaps most seriously, of being a paedophile who viewed child abuse images on the internet.’

Mr Hopkins said she repeated accusations his friends and family members and his now partner.

Thorpe said her ex had viewed child abuse images online and had assaulted her (Picture: ncjMedia Ltd)

‘She tried to harm his surfing business by repeating the accusations online and in correspondence with a charity that his business worked with, and the local authority as well,’ he continued.

“She set up fake emails to contact those organisations, at one point purporting to be a concerned parent.

‘She also attended at his place of work on two occasions as well.”

Referring to the misuse of the police computer offence, Mr Hopkins said: ‘Offences of this nature have a tendency to erode public confidence in the police. People think if they make a report about a member of the police, they are going to look them up.’

Judge Amanda Rippon told the court: ‘She looked on the Police National Computer to see what she could find out about his background. The jury saw the misuse of the computer as part of the stalking.’

The judge said she was sure the man was not a paedophile and did not assault Thorpe, as she claimed.

She said she found the victim to be a ‘compelling, truthful and honest witness’, unlike Thorpe, who she said had described her own behaviour on a couple of occasions as ‘crazy’.

The court heard the former couple had been together for around five years and Thorpe had become pregnant with the help of IVF.

However, she miscarried twins and their relationship deteriorated and theywere then stuck living together as the Covid lockdown came into force in early 2000.

Thorpe’s stalking began even as they were still living together.

Judge Rippon told her: ‘Unfortunately you didn’t just contact him, you contacted his friends on Facebook and you posted on Facebook anonymously sometimes. You contacted people who used his business, a charity he worked with and the local authority.

Thorpe leaving court in May this year (Picture: North News & Pictures Ltd)

‘You made truly dreadful allegations about him, saying he was a paedophile, a woman beater and a drug user. These allegations were false. I’m entirely sure he did none of the things you accused him of

‘You used false names, you even set up false Tinder accounts like honey traps to try to catch him out. You plainly intended to destroy his business and there was an impact on it.

‘Your behaviour impacted his mental health significantly and that of his son. He was exhausted and depressed by it.’

She added: ‘It was persistent actions over a prolonged period and there was repeated access to the police computer system over a prolonged period.’

The judge said Thorpe had been a hard working police officer who had mental health issues at the time of the offending and acted ‘entirely out of character as you saw your last chance for a family dissipate’ but added: ‘Your offending as a serving police officer is very serious.’

In a victim impact statement made in 2021, the man said: ‘I can’t even put into words right now how this is making me feel, it’s making me utterly depressed. The messages were untrue and seriously alarming.

‘She was on an utter mission to destroy me.

‘When I read the messages my stomach turned and I felt physically sick. She is clearly trying to ruin my life and make my day to day life a living nightmare.’

He said he was ‘on edge every day’ wondering what she will do or say about him.

‘She needs to move on and it’s like she can’t,’ he continued. ‘It’s embarrassing and humiliating, having to explain to my friends and family what’s happened.

‘What she has done as created a massive strain on my personal, family and business life.

‘She contacted my family (including his son) accusing me of various disgusting things, leading to my son having anxiety issues and he sees a counsellor.

‘She accused me of having affairs, drug taking, domestic abuse. I had to contact my male friends to persuade them I didn’t have affairs with their partners.’

He said she tried to ruin his business by making accusations on social media.

Caption: Detective who stalked ex-partner & accused him as a paedophile has been branded a domestic abuser by her chief constable

‘Some days I didn’t even want to go to work,’ he said. ‘I’m worried who will believe what she says about me

‘It’s caused my business to have a massive drop in bookings. It threatened the long term future of my business.

‘I’m worried what she will do next because I don’t think she will stop.

‘Her behaviour has put me on edge every single day. Everything she has done has caused me to feel very depressed and to have a low mood.’

The man said he was worried her false allegations would be believed due to the fact she was a serving police officer.

The court heard Thorpe has PTSD, was mentally unwell and acted out of character at a time of crisis in her life. Robin Patton, defending, said she had lost her unborn twins not long before.

He added: ‘Her behaviour, which the jury convicted her of, was from somebody who was not well mentally.’

Mr Patton said Thorpe has stayed away from the victim for four years and has ‘done the honourable thing’ and resigned from Northumbria Police, where she had been a police officer for 19 years, and now has the opportunity of employment elsewhere.

He added: ‘As a detective, she must have known she was using her own log in details and they routinely audit who looks at the computer she was accessing.

‘She has lost her job, her pension will be in peril, she’s about to lose her home, her relationship has not only ended but ended in the most spectacular fashion.

‘It’s difficult to see what more she could suffer, other than the finally indignity of an immediate custodial sentence.’

After the case, detective superintendent Donna Rose, head of Northumbria Police’s Professional Standards Department, said: ‘When concerns were raised in relation to this individual, we began an investigation and they were subsequently suspended from duty.

‘Her actions were completely unacceptable and are in no way representative of the overwhelming majority of officers, staff and volunteers at Northumbria Police who come to work to make a positive difference to people’s lives.

‘We can confirm misconduct proceedings are also being progressed in relation to the individual who has resigned from the force.’

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