A FORMER cop who tracked his wife to a Screwfix car park where she was romping with her new lover has avoided jail.
Gavin Harper, 45, subjected Stephanie Glynn, 40, to “obsessive, intrusive and unwanted behaviour” as part of a stalking campaign.
SUPPLIEDGavin Harper waged a stalking campaign against his estranged wife[/caption]
He placed a tracker on his estranged wife’s car then followed her to the Screwfix in Birkenhead, Merseyside.
Stephanie, a police officer, was having sex with married police inspector Andrew McLullich when they were confronted by her ex.
Harper has now avoided jail after being convicted of aggravated stalking.
He was instead handed him a two-year sentence suspended for two years and slapped with a seven-year restraining order.
Jurors failed to reach a verdict on where the ex-cop attacked his wife’s new lover.
Sentencing, Judge David Potter said: “The shock and stress of being persistently stalked is pervasive.”
Liverpool Crown Court heard how Harper and Stephanie got married in 2018 after meeting while working for Merseyside Police.
She left the family home two years later and grew close to her “work mentor” Andrew.
Harper could not accept the end of his marriage and became “obsessed with catching her in the act”.
He left his estranged wife “sickeningly anxious” during his stalking campaign – forcing Stephanie to change her working hours and see a counsellor.
She told the court: “My anxiety and the last two years, coming back and forth to court, has been horrendous.”
On February 16, 2021, Harper followed Stephanie to the car park using a tracker.
He was accused of filming the incident and shouting: “I’ve got you on film s****ing my wife”.
Prosecutors alleged he then “rained” punches on his love rival and battered him with a torch.
Giving evidence, Harper claimed he just wanted “undeniable proof” of the affair which his wife had persistently denied.
He also told the court Andrew had started throwing punches – forcing him to fight back.
SuppliedStephanie had moved out of the family home in 2020[/caption]
SUPPLIEDHarper tracked Stephanie’s car using a device[/caption]
He caught her having sex with her new partner in a Screwfix car park