March 2004

Ex-PC who stalked girl spared jail

AN ex-policeman has escaped jail after he stalked a 14-year-old schoolgirl for three-and-a-half months.

It was the second time disgraced former PC Keith Miller, 34, had left a teenage girl in terror following a campaign of harassment.

Miller, who had been stationed at Whickham, near Gateshead, horrified his first victim with perverted text messages and left the second teenager afraid to go out at night.

But he was allowed to walk free after probation reports convinced Gateshead magistrates that he posed no threat to the public.

The court was told that Miller was convicted in September last year of sending grossly offensive and indecent text messages to the other 14-year-old in April 2002. He completed a 160-hour community punishement order imposed for that offence and quit the force.

She ended up swapping mobile numbers with Miller. He said he was 25 but did reveal he was a police officer.

The girl’s mum, who has three other children, said: “She told me not to worry because he was a police officer. He kept texting her and she would reply to him.

“He’d say things like he wanted to take her away to a sun-drenched beach, stuff like that. At one stage he wanted to meet her but I refused to let her go and thank God I did.

“The messages started to get cruder until it got to the point she didn’t dare reply to them.

“He’d even text her while she was in the classroom at school.

“He described how he wanted to strip her uniform off and what he’d do to each part of her body. And he was saying what he had in his hand and what he was doing with it.

“My daughter got to the point where she was scared to go out. She started eating Paracetamols like they were sweets and we had to hide pencil sharpeners from her because she was taking the blades out and slashing her arms.”

The mum added: “I was disgusted a police officer could build up the trust of a 14-year-old girl like that for his own sick perverted reasons.”

Magistrates were told yesterday how police had secretly tracked Miller in March last year and saw him stalking his latest victim.

He would wait for the youngster at her school bus stop.

Miller, of Greystoke Gardens, Harlow Green, Gateshead, admitted one charge of harassment.

He was handed a 12-month community rehabilitation order and told to complete 100 hours of unpaid work, under the supervison of a probation officer, along with £225 costs.

Gavin Doig, mitigating, said Miller had not intended to frighten the girl and was very sorry for what he had done. He had moved from the area and did not intend to return.