A mum who was plagued by a mystery stalker for years was appalled to discover it was a local dad from the school-gates.
Karen Smith, 41, from Sheffield, endured almost nine years of sexually explicit phone calls, during which the caller masturbated and described what she was wearing.
The mother-of-two became so anxious that she fitted extra security to her home because she was convinced that her stalker was outside watching her.
She became so afraid that she went to police, who advised her there was nothing they could do and suggested she changed her phone number.
Karen’s ordeal finally came to an end when her stalker was unmasked as a friend – a local dad who she had chatted with daily in the schoolyard. Their children had been friends, and Karen had visited his home and accepted lifts from him.
Karen Smith, 41, from Sheffield, endured almost nine years of sexually explicit phone calls, during which the unknown caller masturbated and even knew what she was wearing
He had even brazenly quizzed her about her stalker – asking if she had any idea who it might be.
Earlier this month, Steven Turner, 49, from Sheffield, was found guilty of two counts of stalking at Sheffield Crown Court and was jailed for two years.
Karen said: ‘For years, I racked my brains who the stalker might be. It got to the stage where I was really in fear for my safety. He could tell me what I was wearing and whether my bedroom light was on.
‘When I found out it was Steven Turner, I couldn’t believe it. I had been in his home, he had given me and my friends lifts in his car. He had even fixed my car once.
‘Yet strangely, it all fit together too. There was always something a little bit uncomfortable about him. And of course it explained how he knew so much about me; what I was wearing, what my routine was.’
Karen was a young single mum with two toddlers when the anonymous calls started in around 2009. At first, she thought it was a joke.
She says: ‘It was a man’s voice, whispering, and I just thought one of my friends was winding me up. I kept asking everyone who it was.’
But the calls steadily became more explicit, with Turner masturbating during the calls and using explicit language.
The mother-of-two was so terrified that she went to police, who advised her there was nothing they could do and suggested she changed her phone number
The stalker turned out to be Steven Turner, a local father in the area who often spoke to Karen when dropping their kids off at school
Karen says: ‘I was disgusted. I tried hanging up. I tried shouting at him. He used to breathe very heavily, and I even tried making fun of him, telling him he’d have a heart attack if he didn’t stop.
‘But he just seemed to get off on everything I said.’
The calls then took a more sinister twist with Turner telling Karen exactly what she was wearing, and what lights were on her house.
She says: ‘My house had a long back garden which backed onto woods, and it was very dark and isolated at night. I became really afraid that he was watching me.
‘I was on my own in the house with two little ones and I felt very vulnerable. I got a gate for the garden, and we had security lights but I still felt unsafe. In the end, we moved house.
‘I even went to the police station and reported him but the police said there was nothing they could do. The calls were from withheld numbers. They advised me to change my number.
‘The calls carried on and there was no pattern to them; sometimes he might call three nights in a row then not call again for a month. It was usually late night or early hours of the morning.
Karen had often accepted lifts from Steven and he also came to her children’s parties, but she always thought he was ‘slimy’. Steven was charged with stalking Karen earlier this month and was later charged with two years in prison and handed a five-year restraining orders for Karen
‘I was especially anxious coming in and out of the house. I always made sure I was on the phone to a friend so that if he pounced, I could shout for help.
‘It was always at the back of my mind, worrying what he might be capable of.’
Karen’s friend also received one of the calls, and they realised the stalker was probably someone who knew them both.
She says: ‘It made me very suspicious, paranoid almost. I was looking at every man wondering if it was him. It was horrible.’
Steven Turner, meanwhile, was a local dad who Karen knew well. Their children went to the same school and were friends when they were small.
Karen says: ‘I’d see him in the schoolyard, at drop off and pick up time. He came to the kids’ parties. I went to his house because my friend was mates with his partner. I even went to a bonfire party at his place.
‘Steven appeared to be very community minded. He had a big car and when it snowed, he drove around picking people up. He also took me and my friends into town, for a night out, if we all threw in a couple of quid.
‘He fixed my car too. He did lots of little jobs on the side which made you think he was a nice bloke.
‘He had asked about my stalker; he’d ask who I thought it was and if the calls were still coming. Little did I know he was digging for information.
‘Though he was a friend, I wouldn’t say I liked him. I was always chatty and friendly to him but at the same time he was a bit slimy. I would never have wanted to be left on my own with him; it would have been a bit awkward. But I didn’t think past that. I certainly didn’t think he was my stalker.
‘His partner had even told us that Steven went missing during the night sometimes. I just didn’t link that with the phone calls.’
Early in 2019, Karen was contacted by police to ask if she had been receiving unwanted calls. They made an appointment to see her.
But before they came, Karen’s friend announced she’d also been contacted by police.
Karen says: ‘The police told her that her number was in the stalker’s phone. She had a new phone with only a couple of callers, and Steven had called her a few times because she had paid him to fix her car.
‘The penny dropped, and we realised it had to be him. I felt absolutely sickened. It suddenly made sense how he knew what I was wearing and what I was doing – because I saw him nearly every day at the school gates.
‘I couldn’t believe he had the audacity to ask me about my stalker when it was him all along. He is twisted and warped beyond belief.
‘The moment he was arrested, the calls stopped.
‘In some ways it was a relief to know who it was. He had been a bogeyman in my life for almost nine years and now I knew it was just a sad pervert who lived up the road.’
Steven Turner appeared before Sheffield Crown Court earlier this month charged with stalking Karen and another female victim.
The court heard Turner, of Manor Park, Sheffield, subjected his victims to years of offensive and sexually explicit phone calls. He called their phones using a withheld number from his mobile, subjecting them to horrific sexual comments and foul language.
After being arrested, Turner claimed his phone had been ‘hacked’ and denied all knowledge of the calls. However, on Thursday, July 6 he was found guilty of two counts of stalking by a jury following a trial at Sheffield Crown Court.
Turner was sentenced to two years in prison on Friday 7 July and handed five-year restraining orders for both victims.
PC Thomas Rogers, investigating, said: ‘Turner’s actions have caused both victims years of torment. It is only right he will now spend time behind bars for this horrendous and unprovoked harassment of two victims.
I would like to commend the two victims in this case for their courage throughout the investigation and court process and hope they will now be able to move on with their lives knowing they have justice.’
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