York student Maisie Relph speaks out over 'nightmare' stalking ordeal

Graham Mansie, 52, was last month given a suspended sentence for stalking his former pupil Maisie Relph, 19.

Speaking out, kind Maisie said she was glad he had been helped not punished.

A court heard earlier this month how he became obsessed with the then 17-year-old while he taught her how to drive in Bromley.

Graham Mansie. Picture: SWNS

She said initially she had no worries with his behaviour, but after her 18th birthday, he changed.

Mansie asked the teenager out for drinks and created a TikTok account called ‘For Maisie’ which featured a red heart emoji and the bio “my favourite”.

He taught around 15 of her pals to drive too and gave another student a gift bag to pass on to her, it was said, containing £65 in restaurant vouchers.

The present hamper had a keyring featuring a bone with her dog’s name on and even a University of York sign - the city she was due to move to.

When the victim blocked Mansie on all social media and stopped learning how to drive with him, his car was spotted on her road.

Even when she moved to university in York he followed her electronically - creating a fake Instagram account pretending to be an 18-year-old student called Ben Williams.

He even joined a WhatsApp group for her halls of residence.

And he turned up in the city although did not enter her accommodation, it was said - and was arrested soon after.

When interviewed, he also confessed to police he had used the dark web and paid people hundreds of pounds to try to hack into her social media accounts.

Brave Maisie was forced to face him in court before he changed his plea to guilty.

Mansie, from Beckenham, south-east London, was given an eight-week jail term suspended for a year at Bromley Magistrates’ Court.

Maisie, a psychology in education student, said: “It was a nightmare I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy.

“I want to raise awareness because I’d have stopped my lessons much sooner if I’d read a story like this.

“In my lessons he used to say things like: ‘Oh I’ll add that to the file’, and I always thought it was a joke but now I wonder if he did have a file on me.

Maisie Relph. Picture: SWNS

“The police still haven’t told me everything they found on his computer.

“It’s really shocking and I’m still terrified, but I think he needs help, not to be locked away.

“I’m really pleased he’s getting help with the therapy sessions, and the life-long restraining order gives me peace of mind.

“If he’d gone to jail I’d only be worrying about when he gets out, and they said he’ll go to prison for five years if he breaks the order so I feel pretty confident he’ll stick to it.

“It’s a win-win, he’ll get help and I feel relieved, so do all my friends and flatmates and their families, who are all victims of this too.”