Met Police Detective Convicted of Stalking Former Partner After Persistent Messages

Timothy Fory, 34, of the Met's directorate of professional standards, was found guilty of stalking Stephanie Lane, also a detective with the force, between July and September 2024. Westminster Magistrates' Court heard on Monday that the pair had a brief relationship that ended because Ms Lane felt Fory was not respecting her boundaries. Fory, who had served in the force for four years, then "persistently" sent her WhatsApp messages before being blocked and turning to Instagram and Facebook. In one message he sent her a link to Ann Summers lingerie; when Ms Lane replied that she thought he had not registered they were no longer seeing each other, Fory responded that he was still "going to imagine you in stockings".

He also asked her "Why are you looking so sexy? and said "I want to put my arms around you. Prosecutor George Crivelli said Fory followed Ms Lane at a social event where "everywhere she went he followed". After being blocked on social media, Fory found Ms Lane's ex-partner Joshua Gray on Instagram and, "out of pure spitefulness and perhaps desperation", messaged him about her relationship with him.