Man jailed after ‘hiding sinister secret’ from relentlessly abusive partner

A jealous and controlling stalker who pretended to be someone else to subject his partner to a campaign of abuse has been jailed. Jantibhai Patel was said to have made his victim feel like she was “being attacked every day for six months”.

Jantibhai, also known as Vijay, entered into a relationship with an unnamed woman in April 2019. He quickly became jealous that she saw friends and family and created fake phone numbers to bombard her with messages, he said Warwickshire Constabulary.

He cloned her phone and intercepted messages and replied on her behalf, turning down invitations to social events without her ever knowing, a court heard. It turned into a relentless pattern of harassment and abuse, including malicious communications, fraud and stalking.

READ MORE: Coventry-filmed BBC show Phoenix Rise back for brand new series full of ‘joy, pain and thrills’

Police said the victim’s family and friends began receiving malicious text messages from Patel. He also took out policies on her behalf, meaning she had to contact Action Fraud to have them cancelled. Each time it would take several hours to do so at a time as she supported her pregnant daughters and looked after her seriously ill parents, a court heard.

Patel also created a fake social media account in her name and posted embarrassing messages. She deactivated her social media to protect herself and only became aware of these malicious accounts when friends contacted her, a court heard.

While on holiday with friends, Patel sent the victim fake screenshots suggesting she was obscene and derogatory towards his family, a court heard. She spent a lot of time on vacation apologizing for things she didn’t do to save her relationship with Patel, 58.

All the while, Patel remained in a relationship with the victim and offered to help her find the person responsible for the harassment, a court heard. Police said the victim had confided in him about the abuse she was receiving from an “unknown” person, but he would blame her for “bringing it on herself”.

Despite changing her mobile phone numbers and email addresses several times and sharing her new number only with Patel and close relatives and friends, the abuse continued. Then in October 2019, believing Patel was stalking her, the victim took her car to a garage where she found a tracking device, a court heard.

A few days later, the victim reported him for entering her home without her knowledge, a court heard. Neighbors confirmed that they saw him go to the house alone on several occasions, despite the fact that the victim gave him permission to do so only once to walk his dogs.

Detectives analyzed the tracking device as well as mobile phone numbers which linked Patel to the course of the harassment, a court heard. Police also seized his phone and found photographs of where the victim planned to go and who he planned to meet, Warwickshire Police said.

Patel, of The Green, Dunchurch, appeared at Warwick Crown Court earlier this month, where he was jailed after previously pleading guilty to stalking involving alarm and distress, Warwickshire Police said. He was sent to prison for four years.

“Patel could not stand for the victim to have her own life”

Detective Constable Paul Vaughton, from Warwickshire Police, said: “Like many domestic abusers, Patel was jealous and controlling. He couldn’t stand for the victim to have her own life and create a whole new persona to bully and intimidate her while portraying herself as the victim.

“This was an incredibly complex investigation and the lengths to which Patel went to cause alarm and distress to the victim and her family were truly incredible. All the while he tried to isolate her from her family and friends.”

DC Vaughton added: “I would like to thank the victim for his courage and determination throughout this investigation. It has had a huge impact on her life and I hope she can take solace in the sentence and look forward to more positive times.

“Finally, I hope this case sends a clear message to those who cause so much damage to people’s lives through stalking and harassment. No matter how complicated the web of lies is, we will untangle it, find the truth and do justice.”

“It was like being attacked every day for six months”

After the sentencing, the victim said: “It was a totally destabilizing experience for me, to suddenly become the target of a malicious hate campaign from a stranger who didn’t know what was going to be thrown at me from one day to the next and what not. knowing why someone would want to do it. It has had repercussions on all aspects of my life; social, financial and technical, to the extent that all of these have been minimized. It was like being attacked every day for six months.

“Things only changed when my son became so worried and came back to live with me because I was led to believe I was being watched and followed. Then Patel began to change his attitude, starting to accuse me of bringing this not only on myself, but on him and his family, adding to my already high level of anxiety, stress and guilt.

“Had it not been for Warwickshire Police, primarily DC Paul Vaughton, and the CPS, despite having a strong suspicion towards the end, I would never have been able to prove that my partner was behind this. I cannot thank Paul enough for his validation and belief in my experience and determination to bring the perpetrator to justice.”

Sign up here for our FREE daily newsletter for all the latest news on Coventry.