Man found guilty of stalking after threatening to kidnap influencer and following her to Bali with rope in suitcase
A British man who threatened to kidnap an American influencer then followed her to Bali with rope in his suitcase has been found guilty of stalking
Rob Keating, aged 39, of Old Crawley Road in Horsham, who previously lived in Havant, was found guilty of two offences of stalking involving fear of violence on Wednesday May 14, following a seven day trial at Portsmouth Crown Court.
The court heard how Keating had begun contacting 33-year-old Alexandra Saper, known as The Wayfaress, via Instagram in June 2022, but the two had never met in person. The messages Keating sent were constant and so concerning in nature that Alexandra blocked him on the platform, hoping that this would make him stop.
However, after being blocked on Instagram, Keating then started to contact her via her personal email address, despite having never been given her details. Keating continued his constant harassment and would send screenshots of various things the social media star had posted on her Instagram, demonstrating that he was accessing her account from other secret accounts. Alexandra reported that over a six-month period, she received hundreds of emails and 30 videos from Keating.
In December 2022, she received an email from Keating in which he threatened to kidnap her and sent links to videos he had made further threatening to kidnap and rape her. He also sent her a photo of a body in a suitcase, alongside videos of him threatening to do the same to her. Keating threatened to travel to Bali, Indonesia where Alexandra was living to kidnap her and began sending her evidence that he had obtained flight tickets and a visa to Indonesia.
This then escalated into sending photos from locations in Bali that she frequented, as well as from locations near to her address. After the influencer’s friends saw Keating in person close to her address, she fled to a friend’s address and contacted local police, before later leaving the country fearing for her safety.
On Monday 6 March 2023, Keating was arrested at Gatwick Airport on suspicion of stalking. Prosecutor Alexandra Bull previouisly told the court that police found “black rope” in his suitcase when he was arrested. However, more than a year later while he remained under investigation he contacted Alexandra again and posted to his own Instagram account a video about her, as well as screenshots of flights to Bali with the caption ‘Round Two’.
In video evidence given to the court throughout the trial, Alexandra told the court that Keating’s behaviour affected her work. She had to stop posting on Instagram and also cancel work projects because she was concerned about his belief that she was sending him secret messages. She said she became “depressed” and stopped leaving the house because of Keating's actions.
When he was arrested, Keating told police in an interview that he was not sexually attracted to Alexandra, but alleged that “she had shown an interest in him and there could be something there” between them.
He was then further arrested on suspicion of stalking on Monday 11 November 2024 and was charged and remanded into custody the following day. A jury at Portsmouth Crown Court found Keating guilty of two stalking involving fear of violence offences. He has been remanded into custody and is due to appear at the same court for sentencing on Friday 25 July.