Woman jailed for ‘catfishing’ as male pharmacist in stalking campaign
A woman has been imprisoned after conducting a “sophisticated” stalking campaign in which she “pretended to be a male pharmacist” to deceive her victim.
A woman who “pretended to be a male pharmacist” to stalk and deceive her victim has been sentenced to 28 months’ imprisonment, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) announced last week (September 13).
Adele Rennie, 33, of Kilmarnock was sentenced at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court on Friday after she pleaded guilty in July to online stalking and other offences committed in the Ayrshire and North Lanarkshire areas last year, it said.
Rennie engaged in an “elaborate stalking campaign” after she matched with her victim on dating app Tinder in August 2023, while posing as a male pharmacist, the COPFS revealed.
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She was able to stalk her victim “despite being subject to strict notification requirements as a registered sex offender”, it said.
After Rennie cancelled a first date at the last minute, her victim started to suspect that the pharmacist’s Tinder account was a “catfish profile”, according to the COPFS.
But Rennie tried a variety of means to remain in touch with her victim, it said.
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Rennie called the victim using “a voice-changing application to sound like a man”, while she also received a voice note from a “friend” of the fake pharmacist urging her to “not to give up on him”, it added.
She also arranged to have flowers delivered to her victim’s home address and sent her an “unwanted explicit image” as well as photos taken outside of her victim’s home and workplace, the COPFS said.
Concert reveal
In October, Rennie tried to lure her victim to a concert in London but when her victim rejected the advance, Rennie asked her to forward the tickets to an email address.
“A witness” showed the victim images of Rennie at that concert, which prompted her to call the police, according to the COPFS.
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In November, a police raid on Rennie’s home uncovered a mobile phone connected to the fake pharmacist’s email address with “searches for the victim in the internet history”, it said.
The police also recovered a photograph matching the fake man’s profile and several bank cards that Rennie should have declared owing to her “sex offender notification requirement”, it added.
Sentencing a stalker
In addition to a custodial sentence, Rennie is subject to a year-long supervised release order, the COPFS said.
She has also been placed on the sex offenders’ register for ten years and must comply with a sexual harm prevention order for five years, it added.
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Rennie cannot approach, contact or attempt to contact or approach her victim for five years under a “non-harassment order”, the court determined.
An Adele Lindsay Rennie has been removed from the Nursing and Midwifery Council’s (NMC) register by a fitness-to-practise (FtP) panel, according to an entry on the NMC’s register.
“Profound and distressing”
Sheriff Nicola Patrick said at Rennie’s sentencing that her actions involved “a significant degree of pre-meditation, deception and manipulation”.
Patrick added that Rennie had committed “very serious” offences that “deliberately” caused her victim distress.
When taking account of Rennie's “record for conduct of a similar nature”, Patrick ruled that imprisonment was the only appropriate sentence.
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Kilmarnock criminal investigation department detective inspector Stephen McGrath hailed the “great strength” of Rennie’s victim for choosing to approach the police in the face of “a calculated attempt to deceive and manipulate”.
And procurator fiscal for North Strathclyde David Bernard said that Rennie’s “sophisticated stalking campaign” had caused “profound and distressing” effects.
“We hope this conviction brings some comfort to those affected by Rennie’s concerning and manipulative behaviour,” Bernard added.
If you’ve been affected by sexual harassment in the work place, reach out to NAWP , Pharmacist Support or PASS in Northern Ireland for help. Find free materials to raise awareness of a zero tolerance of abuse policies in pharmacies here.
