A judge has imposed a new sentence on a woman previously convicted of barbaric catfishing involving a Home And Away star.
If she uses social media, a Melbourne woman previously accused of impersonating Home And Away star Lincoln Lewis to seduce and viciously troll victims will face jail time.
Lydia Abdelmalek, who is facing new stalking charges, was given bail on Monday in Heidelberg Magistrates Court on the condition that she not use social media.
Though granting bail, Magistrate Meagan Keogh directed Ms Abdelmalek not to use social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp “under her own name or any assumed identities.”
Ms Abdelmalek faces six charges between May 2020 and April 2021, including stalking, sending menacing emails, and breaching bail conditions.
She is accused of developing a “obsession” with a woman who worked in a store and bullying her regularly online using fictitious profiles.
The woman was dating a married man, and Ms Abdelmalek is accused of bullying him online with a profile that included a show photo of the man’s own family.
She created fake profiles and posted his photo to Facebook community groups, claiming he had been seen raping young women, was scary, and looked like a drug dealer.
In a summary filed in court, police said that her victim was left nervous and overwhelmed.
It says she has voiced her concern about Abdelmalek’s fascination with her.
She was worried and afraid of Abdelmalek’s ability to stalk her and the man at all times.
Ms Abdelmalek was on parole during this alleged time of creepy criminal conduct, according to the court, after successfully challenging her prior stalking convictions.
If the appeal court grants bail, a convicted individual may remain in the community throughout the appeal process.
The 31-year-old was previously convicted of stalking on six counts in June 2019 after police suspected her of creating fake social media accounts, one of which included TV heartthrob Lewis.
According to police, she used the profiles for months to deceive women into believing they were dating the men she pretended to be.
According to police, she sent cruel messages to the victims, using fake accounts to bombard them with messages calling them “slut” and saying things like “when are you going to kill yourself.”
She was found guilty of sending the woman’s family explicit pictures of one of her targets.
One of the women later took her own life.
Ms Abdelmalek is appealing these convictions in County Court, and the case is still pending.
Prosecutor Luke Devlin said in court on Monday that the charges she is facing are “exactly the same sort” as her alleged impersonation of Lewis and other men.
He explained that this applicant befriends people and forms relationships with them.
(The victims are deeply embarrassed to have been duped into entering into a relationship.)
The fact that she is on appeal bail has had no impact on her decision to engage in this conduct.
She has developed two fake Facebook profiles that are identical to the previous event.
There are no bail conditions that can help with this applicant’s unacceptable risk.
Ms Abdelmalek’s attorney, Sam Norton, argued that the charges against her were demonstrably false, and that correspondence between Ms Abdelmalek and the new alleged victim had been edited to conceal the true nature of the two’s relationship.
According to him, the prosecution case has serious flaws.
He said Ms Abdelmalek was seeking psychiatric therapy and was the primary caretaker for her parents, and that even if found guilty of the current charges, she would not face a lengthy prison sentence.
Bail conditions, according to Magistrate Keogh, would reduce the possibility of her committing further crimes while on bail.
She told Ms Abdelmalek that there’s a chance you’ll go down this road and engage in this sort of behaviour with other people.
However, I believe those dangers can be handled.
Today, I’m going to release you on bail.
Ms. Abdelmalek is scheduled to appear in court again on August 9.
