A teenager created as many as 30 fake Instagram accounts in a well-planned attempt to get her ex-boyfriend convicted for stalking.

Courtney Ireland-Ainsworth, who was 19 at the time of the crime, sent herself threats from the fake Instagram accounts before telling the police that her ex-boyfriend Louis Jolly is threatening her life. One of the texts she sent to herself read, "She is getting a f***ing blade in her chest."

The woman, now 20, made 10 police statements between July 15 to December 13 last year accusing the innocent man of harassing and stalking her. Her false allegations led to him being arrested six times and spending a total of 81 hours in custody, including being remanded overnight. He was also charged with assault and stalking, hit with a stalking protection order, bailed on a home curfew with an electronic tag, and even lost his job due to his ex-partner's malicious plans, reports Liverpool Echo.

The victim told Liverpool Crown Court in a recent hearing that he was with Ainsworth for two years before they split up on "okay terms" in October 2019. The woman then got into a relationship with a man named Declan Rice, but at the same time began her "deliberate and malevolent lies" against her ex-partner. She accused him of calling from withheld numbers and stalking her, her friends, and her new partner.

She also alleged that he verbally and physically abused her, made false claims about her using cocaine, and smashed items in her house apart from putting a brick through her nan's window and threatening to stab her and her boyfriend. She even filmed videos of herself walking down the street and sent the videos from the fake accounts she created.

Recorder Ian Harris told her in court: "You created an entirely fictional but superficially credible web of poisonous deceit for over five months. You stated after he had been arrested the stalking became worse. You provided images of damage to property and you yourself, as to where you said he knifed you with a Stanley knife, and there was a scar on your chest."

While detectives requested data from Facebook to ascertain the person behind the Instagram accounts, the victim had to struggle with the police's action against him. Ireland-Answorth's email-ids and IP address were eventually found connected to the stalking accounts and she was arrested and interviewed in December 2020.

The defense said that the woman was 19 at the time, immature and diagnosed as suffering from "complex" post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), noting that she is a "very respected member" at the DHL Supply Chain she works at and is "loved and respected" by family and friends.

The judge noted that the victim had "become a shell of the man he used to be" because of her lies. However, her sentence was reduced because of her mental health difficulties and her guilty plea. She has been jailed for 10 months and has been issued a 10-year restraining order.

Hands in Handcuffs
A representational illustration of a pair of hands in handcuffs. (Pixabay)