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Stalker who harassed women after pretending to have found their missing pets is jailed

Steven Bowkett, 33, harassed women across the country. (SWNS)
Steven Bowkett, 33, harassed women across the country. (SWNS)

A stalker who harassed women after pretending to have found their missing pets has been jailed for nearly five years.

Steven Bowkett, 33, demanded topless pictures of women after finding their contact details on missing dog appeals.

He had searched websites looking for women’s phone numbers and then messaged them pretending he’d located their pet.

But after getting owners’ hopes up, he bombarded them with indecent images and videos of himself – before demanding they do the same.

A general view of Birmingham Crown Court in Birmingham.   (Photo by Rui Vieira/PA Images via Getty Images)
Steven Bowkett was jailed at Birmingham Crown Court. (Getty)

A court heard Bowkett targeted at least 30 strangers nationwide and even told one victim: "This only ends when I see you topless".

The women blocked Bowkett’s number but continued to receive messages and video calls as he switched to one of many pay-as-you-go SIMs he’d bought in bulk.

He also boasted “police can’t do anything” before officers tracked his phone to an address in Sheldon, Birmingham.

He was arrested after detectives found he had bought 28 SIM cards to contact multiple women from the West Midlands and other parts of the country.

Bowkett went on to plead guilty to multiple stalking, attempted stalking and indecent exposure offences.

He was jailed for four years and eight months at Birmingham Crown Court on Monday.

Detective Sergeant Becky Leyland, from West Midlands Police's Adult Abuse Team, said: "Bowkett tormented his victims.

"They felt there was no escape from him as he seemed to have no end of different phone numbers to contact them on.

“It must have been very frightening and caused these women serious distress.

“In interview Bowkett claimed he was drunk when sending the images and videos and couldn’t recall how many people he’d contacted.

“But these weren’t drunken mistakes. This was systematic and calculated harassment of strangers for his own gratification.”