Stalker who threatened and monitored his ex with spyware: sentenced in Naples

A relentless persecution, both digital and physical, that for months turned a young woman's life into a trap. The Naples Criminal Court sentenced a 32-year-old man to two years and eight months in prison for stalking his ex-girlfriend, including using spyware secretly installed on her cell phone. The trial, conducted under the expedited procedure, upheld the charges of the Naples Prosecutor's Office, which accused him of stalking and unauthorized access to a computer system.

The investigation revealed a chilling picture. The victim, a 26-year-old, was forced to live with constant surveillance: stalking outside her home, a barrage of messages from purpose-built social media profiles, and explicit threats sent via chat. In a video call, the man showed her a knife, promising he would find her wherever she was. A few minutes later, he actually showed up outside the theater where she was spending the evening with some friends.

The gravity of the situation led the magistrates of the IV "Vulnerable Groups" section to immediately apply pre-trial detention, an action that—according to the young woman's lawyer, Sergio Pisani—avoided a far more tragic outcome. Under the ordinary trial procedure, the sentence would have been four years, but today's verdict nevertheless brings to an end a case that nearly ended in tragedy.