Man issued with Surrey’s first Stalking Protection Order sentenced to time behind bars

Alexander De Frietas who was issued with the first Stalking Protection Order in Surrey has been sentenced to a total of 9.5 months behind bars after breaking the conditions.

The 47-year-old of Cricket Green, Hook was issued with Surrey’s first interim SPO in January 2020 following multiple stalking allegations. The terms of the order prevented him from contacting the victim and members of their family. In August this year, Surrey Police received a report of De Frietas breaking these conditions. He was arrested and subsequently charged with three counts of breach of a stalking protection order.

He appeared at Guildford Crown Court on Friday, 5 November where he was sentenced to 9.5 months imprisonment and issued with a restraining order.

Stalking Protection Orders were introduced in January 2020, giving police forces the power to further protect victims of stalking earlier in the criminal justice process. Detective Superintendent Wendy Whiting, Force Lead for Stalking said “Stalking reports have been increasing nationally over the last few years.

“We take stalking and harassment extremely seriously and we are making sure our officers are equipped in order to apply for and enforce Stalking Protection Orders and ensure any breaches are dealt with properly. We have made good use of this legislation since it was introduced in January 2020 and have a number of orders in place to support victims.

Stalking is a crime which can often go undetected due to victims being unaware of the signs. Stalking is described as a pattern of fixated, obsessive, unwanted and repeated behaviour and can have such an adverse impact on victims.

If you are the victim of stalking, we encourage you to report to us by calling 101 and always calling 999 in an emergency. Surrey Police work with a number of partner agencies, who are available to provide support to victims and their families. These include:

• The Suzy Lamplugh Trust
• National Stalking Helpline
• Paladin National Stalking Advocacy Service
• Surrey’s Outreach and support services can be found here: https://www.surreyinformationpoint.org.uk/

 

For more information about stalking and harassment, visit the Surrey Police website: https://www.surrey.police.uk/cp/crime-prevention/harassment/sh/stalking-and-harassment-advice/stalking-and-harassment/