Victim of AI Stalker Fears Early Release Under Government Scheme

A victim of a "depraved" stalker who used artificial intelligence to create nude images of her fears he could be released from prison early under a government scheme. Paris Shears, 31, described a "despicable" campaign of harassment by Jakob Ward, 28, who she considered a trusted family friend.

The campaign, which included sending AI-generated nude photos of Ms. Shears, terrifying packages containing her own underwear, and a bag with his semen, forced her to flee her home with her three children and stay in temporary accommodations. Ward also posed as Ms. Shears' ex-partner on Instagram and bombarded her with messages.

Ward pleaded guilty to stalking causing serious alarm or distress, creating a purported intimate image of an adult, theft, possessing cannabis, and possessing a knuckleduster. He was sentenced to 32 months in prison at Winchester Crown Court. Judge Christopher Parker KC characterized the campaign as "despicable, depraved" and "completely incomprehensible."

Ms. Shears, a domestic abuse campaigner, voiced her distress over the government's early release arrangements, stating that individuals convicted for sentences less than four years could be eligible for release after serving one-third of their time. She is particularly concerned that domestic abuse offenders, stalkers, and coercive controllers are not excluded from this policy.

After accounting for time served on remand, Ward could be eligible for release in approximately nine months. Ms. Shears stated that this prospect means she has a "nine-month deadline to move, to restart my life somewhere else and rebuild it again." She expressed feeling like "another victim of the very system I have spent so long fighting to change," adding that her tormentor's sentence will end long before the consequences of his actions do.

Authorities identified Ward through DNA analysis of the semen he sent. Ms. Shears reported feeling "genuinely terrified" during the ordeal, sleeping with a knife under her pillow due to his requests to meet her. She discovered that the man who had looked after her home when she was on holiday was her tormentor, a realization she described as "mind-blowing."

In a statement read to the court, Ms. Shears conveyed that the campaign destroyed her sense of safety, with her greatest fear being that someone would break into her home to rape and kill her.

Ms. Shears has been an advocate for justice system reform, previously traveling to Parliament after a petition she started garnered over 107,000 signatures. She advocates against reduced sentences for perpetrators who plead guilty at the last minute, citing a past experience with an ex-partner who did so.

Approximately 1,350 prisoners, including individuals convicted of violent offenses, domestic abuse, and burglary, have been released early in two waves this month under Labour's scheme to alleviate overcrowding. A government spokesperson acknowledged inheriting a prison system "on the brink of collapse" and stated that measures are being taken to protect the public, including increasing neighborhood police officers, implementing stricter license controls, expanding electronic tagging, investing in probation, and creating more prison places.