Scots Tinder catfish who used voice app to pose as man in stalking campaign is jailed
A twisted Tinder catfish who used a voice app to pose as a man in a creepy stalking campaign has been jailed.
Adele Rennie, from Kilmarnock, pretended to be a male pharmacist when she matched with her victim on the dating platform in August last year. The woman arranged to go on a date with 33-year-old Rennie, who set up the fake profile.
But Rennie cancelled the meeting at the last minute, which led the victim to believe she was being catfished. Days later, the victim received a voice note from a woman who called herself ‘Cheryl’ - claiming to be a friend of the man and asking her “not to give up on him”.
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She then received calls from the man which she believed sounded like the voice had been altered. The victim then received an unwanted explicit image from Rennie, who stated that she did not mean anything by it and was unable to delete it.
One week later, she received a message from Rennie which contained a photograph taken outside the complainer’s work. Rennie then sent her victim a screenshot of Google Maps which showed someone outside her home.
She then received a photograph of her street that had been taken through a car window. A short period later, Rennie sent her victim a ticket for a gig in London, but she refused to go.
Rennie then asked the woman to send her back the ticket on Ticketmaster to an email address. The woman was then shown pictures from the concert by a witness showing Rennie - who has similar previous convictions for Catfishing - in attendance.
She then contacted police who searched Rennie’s home on November 14, 2023. A mobile phone was examined which revealed an email address with the name of the man and searches for the victim in the internet history.
The police also found a photograph matching the fake male profile and recovered several bank cards, which had not been declared in accordance with Rennie’s sex offender notification requirement. Rennie was jailed for two years and four months after admitting to four charges at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court in July.
She was also made subject to a 12-month Supervised Release Order at the same court and was placed on the Sex Offenders Register for ten years. A non-harassment order, banning Rennie from approaching, contacting, or attempting to approach or contact her victim for five years was granted.
She was also made subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) for five years. It comes after Rennie was jailed for 22 months in 2017 for a series of similar stalking and sexual offences.
Rennie, who was a nurse at Crosshouse Hospital near Kilmarnock, tricked 10 women by using a fake photo to pose as a male doctor online. She pursued relationships with the women through social media sites, dating websites and apps over a four-year period.
She used the names David Graham, David Crolla and Davie, Marco and Matthew Mancini to pursue online relationships.
She often reused the same storyline and characters, referencing the same names and using the same photos in each interaction and in some instances she would call and speak to her victims using a voice changing app.
Rennie would arrange to meet her victims and then cancel at the last moment, often with the excuse that close family were very ill.
Prosecutors said the court was told how some victims received flowers from her invented characters which were hand delivered by Rennie.
She accessed the medical records of one of her victims in an attempt to obtain further details.
She also admitted attempting to delete an Instagram account, sending a victim a fake identification card she had made in a bid to prove one of her aliases was a real person and disposing of a mobile phone in a bin.
While on bail, she accessed a number of dating and social media sites and contacted one of her victims.
David Bernard, Procurator Fiscal for North Strathclyde, said: “Adele Rennie carried out a sophisticated stalking campaign despite being subject to strict notification requirements as a registered sex offender. We recognise that the trauma suffered by victims of stalking can be profound and distressing.
“We hope this conviction brings some comfort to those affected by Rennie’s concerning and manipulative behaviour. I would encourage anyone who has been the victim of such offending to come forward, report it and seek support.
“You will be listened to, and we will use all the tools at our disposal to seek justice.”
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