‘Cruel and brutal’: ‘Catfish’ sentenced to extra jail time after failed sentence appeal
A Melbourne woman who posed as soap stars to trick other women into relationships before stalking them has been sentenced to extra time behind bars after failing to overturn her original sentence.
“Catfish” Lydia Abdelmalek, 32, has been re-sentenced to four years in jail and will need to serve at least two years before she becomes eligible for parole.
Lydia Abdelmalek.
Abdelmalek used the identities of former Home and Away star Lincoln Lewis and British actor Danny Mac to lure women into communicating before stalking and harassing them.
One of Abdelmalek’s victims took her own life after experiencing constant harassment by the 32-year-old, who showed intimate photos of the woman to her father.
Abdelmalek was found guilty of six stalking charges more than three years ago but was released on bail during an attempt to appeal against her conviction.
Victoria’s County Court upheld the guilty verdict in May and Abdelmalek returned to custody. She appeared in court in August to appeal against her sentence.
County Court Judge Claire Quin on Tuesday found Abdelmalek had been “persistent and malicious” in her stalking of her victims, having a “cruel and brutal” impact on them and their families.
One of the victims experienced depression, anxiety, and fear, while the other struggled to sleep and develop normal friendships and relationships with others.
Quin said Abdelmalek had created a “web of false characters” across multiple devices and accounts which had made it difficult for law enforcement agencies to trace and detect her offending.
The court heard that on one occasion, Abdelmalek altered a police warrant to persuade one of her victims the stalker was being investigated, and fabricated evidence to implicate others and ensure she didn’t get caught.
“It is almost impossible when one considers the volume of material accumulated in her devices and use of that material for her stalking activities how else she occupied her time over that period other than engaging in this conduct,” Quin told the court.
Quin said Abdelmalek had likely spent thousands of hours secretly stalking her victims and needed to be deterred from engaging in this conduct again.
“Despite the content of some of the material … it was not fantasy, it was real, and it impacted real people,” she told the court.
“[Abdulmalek] has shown no remorse and insight into her offending.”
Abdelmalek assumed various aliases, including Lewis, to stalk numerous people for about four years from May 2011.
She has repeatedly denied any involvement in the stalking, telling the court she had been hacked and she, too, was a catfish victim – a claim disputed by cyber experts.
The term catfish refers to someone who creates fake accounts on social media or emails to lure people into a relationship with a false identity.
During the hearing in August, the sister of one of her victims called on the court to use the appeal to increase Abdelmalek’s sentence, arguing she was “a danger to society”.
Another victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, also read an emotional statement about the impact the stalking and abuse had on her life, telling the court she had been forced to move repeatedly, change her role at work and eventually stop answering the phone.
“There is no shadow of a doubt that that is who is responsible for destroying my life,” the woman said of Abdelmalek, whom she refused to name in court.
“Having been tormented by that voice for so long, I could recognise it in my sleep.”
Quin said she had warned Abdelmalek and her lawyer on multiple occasions her appeal could result in her imprisonment being extended before re-sentencing the 32-year-old to four years behind bars.
Abdelmalek, who will be placed in protective custody, will need to serve a minimum of two years in prison before she can apply for parole.
With Caroline Schelle
Crisis support is available from Lifeline on 13 11 14.
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