Policewoman moved to Australia to escape stalking

A FORMER Metropolitan Police officer moved to Australia after being stalked by her ex-boyfriend with whom she worked on the force, a court heard.

Gabriella Dichello quit her job and moved abroad after ending her relationship with Mathew Cooper “out of fear” that she might encounter him.

Cooper, 24, controlled where Ms Dichello could go and monitored her movements using the Find My Friends smartphone app over the course of their relationship between June 2019 and December 2020.

He was sentenced to seven months in prison, suspended for two years, after pleading guilty to controlling and coercive behaviour in June this year.

Cooper, of Canary Wharf, east London, cried throughout the one-hour hearing at Snaresbrook Crown Court.

After Cooper pleaded guilty, Ms Dichello said she felt “relieved”, adding: “I am currently living in Australia and now feel that I can move home again.” She was 19 when the pair started dating.

Cooper applied to the Met Police after Ms Dichello decided to join the service in early 2020.

The court heard that arguments between the couple would lead to Cooper punching holes in the walls, throwing glasses and threatening to kill himself to stop her from leaving him.

On one occasion in November 2020, he used a kitchen knife on his own forearm after an argument.

Recorder Matthew Hodson told Cooper: “You manipulated and controlled Gabriella Dichello, intimidating her, controlling where she could go and who she could see and forcing her to make calls on loud speaker so that you could listen in, all under threat that you would seriously harm yourself if she did not do what you said.”

The judge added that Cooper “isolated” his partner and left her “quiet and withdrawn” compared with her “usual bubbly and confident self ”.

Prosecutor Greg Unwin said Ms Dichello had to ask permission before she could go to the shops or see friends.

In addition to the suspended prison sentence, Cooper has been banned by a five-year restraining order from contacting Ms Dichello.

He will also have to perform 30 days of an accredited programme requirement, 25 days of a rehabilitation activity requirement and 60 hours of unpaid work, as well as contribute £200 to prosecution costs.