UK man convicted of cyberstalking

A spurned lover, who used email to stalk his ex, made legal history when he was convicted yesterday. Cambridge graduate Nigel Harris, 23, became the first person in the UK to be prosecuted for cyberspace harassment. Harris was told to stay away from his former partner Claire Dawson in a ruling by Horseferry Road magistrates’ court, London. The court heard how Dawson, 22, received offensive messages via the Internet at the children’s charity where she worked. Harris threatened her by mimicking horror film characters on her answer machine, according to today’s Daily Telegraph. Dawson, who met Harris in 1996 at Trinity College, Cambridge, said her ex had refused to accept the two year relationship was over. Harris denied the charges, claiming the two were in love when the emails were sent. He was given a two-year conditional discharge. ®