Rio Ferdinand stalker is jailed

Susanne Ibru Ibru was found guilty of harassing the England star and his family

A woman who stalked footballer Rio Ferdinand and his family has been jailed for 10 weeks and given a 10-year restraining order.

Susanne Ibru, 38, was convicted of harassment of the Manchester United and England star last month.

She was living in Peckham, south London, when she made a number of 400-mile round trips to the defender’s home in Alderley Edge, Cheshire, in 2010.

Ibru was sentenced at Crewe Magistrates’ Court on Monday.

District Judge Nicholas Sanders, sentencing, said he was “concerned” by Ibru’s behaviour during her time in custody.

He said: “The pre-sentence report describes you as living in a fantasy world, unable to interpret social situations and boundaries.

“You display a predatory and manipulative lifestyle and try to deliberately mislead interviewers.”

The defendant said she would be appealing against her sentence and, as she was led away, added: “I stick two fingers up at you.”

During the trial, Ferdinand, 32, told the court how Ibru left him angry and fearing for his family’s safety.

The court was told that she appeared outside his home on three occasions and demanded to speak with him.

Rio FerdinandRio Ferdinand said he was left angry by Ibru’s appearances at his home

Ibru, who denied harassment charges, represented herself during the trial and cross-examined Mr Ferdinand.

She told the footballer she had been to his home about four or five times over the past four years.

Ibru was convicted at Macclesfield Magistrates’ Court in her absence last month after fleeing during the lunch break.

She was arrested the following day at an address in Warrington and brought back to court, where she was remanded in custody on 20 April.

The court heard that Ibru spat in the face of the arresting officer when she was detained.

On Monday, she pleaded guilty to assaulting the officer.

Judge Sanders said police officers “did not deserve to be spat on” while carrying out their duties.

Simon Leech, defending Ibru, described his client as an “accomplished athlete”.

The court heard she harboured ambitions of becoming a sports agent.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

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