His actions had a huge impact on his victims' lives
The judge who jailed disgraced DJ Alex Belfield referred to a number of witnesses who said he had “weaponised the internet” - which the judge found to be "a wholly apt description of your conduct". The ex-BBC Radio Leeds presenter was convicted on stalking charges on August 5 this year after a five-week trial at Nottingham Crown Court.
The judge told Belfield, who has a house in Mapperley: "It now falls to me to sentence you for these offences and to deal with the Crown’s related application for restraining orders against you in relation to Mr Keith, Mr Hewis, Mr Dehany and Mr Vine. Those orders seek to prevent further harassment of these people. I will refer to these individuals collectively in my remarks as “the complainants”.
"Your offences are so serious that only a custodial sentence can be justified" "Your offences are so serious that only a custodial sentence can be justified. But because I am sentencing you for more than one offence, I must ensure that, standing back, the total overall sentence reflects all your offending behaviour in a just and proportionate manner. That is the principle of totality to which I will make reference in my remarks and which you have heard Counsel discussing with me.
"It was also submitted that custody would have a profound effect on you" "I have read the several character references provided for you. I accept they speak in positive terms about you and commend your work in the community. Mr Aubrey KC has reminded me of your successful career and online following and underlined your particular style and broadcasting persona.
"Your stalking consisted of use of repeated email communications, social media content on Twitter, and creation and publication of YouTube videos on your channel The Voice of Reason in which you commented in highly negative and often abusive terms about the complainants. As you described in some of your videos, your aim was to “haunt” your victims. They gave graphic evidence that they believed you would be true to your word and would never go away.
"I accept that in certain limited respects you were acting as a form of media commentator in stating views on matters of public interest when you made some of your communications. However, even accepting the latitude our laws give to those exercising free speech rights, on the jury’s verdicts you exceeded the generous margins. You made communications which had serious impacts on the private lives of the complainants with distressing effects on their mental and physical health.
"There were many communications and not all were produced in court. They appear to have become less frequent around 2018 but your communications escalated substantially from 1 October 2019 when you suspected that Mr Keith had communicated by email with a person he did not know- Mr Hewis - to warn him of your past behaviour, and to inform him of what he believed you had done to other BBC employees. Mr Hewis then published part of that email from Mr Keith in a Tweet.
"I need to identify the starting point for your sentence. Your stalking of Mr Keith as charged on the Indictment began before 3 April 2017, the date when the maximum penalty was increased from 5 years to 10 years. The guideline reflects this higher penalty. It is common ground that the maximum penalty for this Count is 5 years imprisonment.
"Having regard to all these matters, I impose a sentence of imprisonment of 2 years 6 months in respect of Count 5 concerning Mr Keith."As to Count 6 concerning Mr Hewis, he is a videographer who works in the theatre and wedding industry. You did not know him and have in fact never met him. His problems began when he went online in late 2019 to support those in the theatre who he believed were being unfairly attacked by you on Twitter.
"Secondly, you contacted Mr Hewis’ clients, intending to undermine his business. Thirdly, you encouraged your followers to contact him and your posting publicly about Mr Hewis resulted in followers of your social media profiles abusing Mr Hewis. Fourthly, Google searches continue to reference articles about Mr Hewis which remain available on your websites, thereby not only perpetuating the distress but also the financial effects on Mr Hewis.
"he asked that you cease. Your online attacks and emails began in the early New Year 2020. You wrongly believed that he had repeated the contents of the Hewis tweet. " The statutory maximum for this offence is 6 months imprisonment. I have to however consider the guideline. "As to aggravating factors increasing seriousness and justifying upward movement, there is one matter which I have not already taken into account. It is the fact that you posted publicly about him and that resulted in followers of your social media profiles abusing Mr Dehany. That magnified the effect of your abuse. These matters push the offence up in the category range.
"Mr Myers was a prominent personality in the radio industry and the BBC made a modest contribution to his memorial fund. Mr Vine did not know about this at the material time and the BBC contribution had absolutely nothing to do with him. Mr Vine did not steal anything nor did the BBC pay for the so-called “piss-up”.
" I find that this stalking of Mr Vine falls under category A1 of the stalking guideline. The highest category. As to culpability, your false allegations were given wide publicity over two months and were intended to maximise Mr Vine’s distress. As to harm, I recognise the need to give weight to the jury’s verdicts including the acquittal. I find harm and distress including psychological harm was caused to Mr. Vine.
"This amounts to a total of 5 years and 26 weeks imprisonment. This is the shortest sentence commensurate with the seriousness of your offences and application of the principle of totality. " I accordingly make orders in the terms of the orders before me restraining you under section 360 of the Sentencing Act 2020. As regards each of Bernard Spedding, Ben Hewis, Philip Dehany and Jeremy Vine, you are until further order prohibited from contacting, or attempting to contact, them by any means whether direct or indirect. You must not publish through any form of publication or electronic communication, any statement or other material relating to, or purporting to relate to them.
"The court may make orders which are either time limited or indefinite, but subject to the court’s powers under section 5A . At trial Counts 1-4 were grouped together because they related in part at least to the time Mr Belfield spent at BBC Radio Leeds and actions Mr Belfield took in relation to BBC employees thereafter.
" Each of them suffered a campaign of harassment by email and social media communications. Each of them suffered serious mental health problems arising from Mr Belfield’s conduct. The longest periods of abuse were suffered by Ms Breen, Ms Thomas and Ms. Green. I find that in relation to Ms Breen and Ms. Thomas abusive emails running into the thousands were sent over about a 10 year period. In relation to Ms Green there were hundreds of emails.
" I find that these complainants were targeted by Mr Belfield because he held personal grudges against them. As regards Ms Breen and Ms Thomas, his former managers, he felt they had mistreated him during his brief period working at BBC Radio Leeds in 2010-2011. Mr Belfield also has a belief that women, as part of what he repeatedly called a “tick box” culture, were being promoted and given prominence within the BBC when he, as a person in his own view of real talent, was not being employed.
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