A spying stalker covertly recorded his former partner being intimate with another man in her home and fitted trackers to her car. Michael Held had been in a relationship with the woman for 22 years and they got married in 2007.
Following difficulties in the relationship, she told him she wanted a divorce but she said he responded by "love bombing" her and persuading her to stay with him. However, there came a point where she decided to end the marriage.
Campaign of monitoring
Held, who had moved to Gloucestershire for work, "embarked on a campaign of monitoring her" over an 11 month period, during which he made determined efforts to know what she was doing, Newcastle Crown Court heard.
This included installing camera equipment in her home to allow him to watch what she was doing. Saba Shan, prosecuting, said: "She became aware she was being spied on when she got a message from him asking where she was going for the evening."
Among the material covertly recorded was footage of her being intimate with another man. At Christmas 2025, he attended another person's home and showed them the footage "as proof she had been cheating on him", Miss Shan said.
Tracking devices and digital intrusion
In May 2025, while driving her car, she got a notification that her car was being tracked. She found a tracker in the vehicle and a second device was found in the engine compartment. He also used an app to track her movements and whereabouts, Miss Shan said.
She was unaware he had one of her old phones. He was able to access her emails, social media accounts and dating apps. He sent information he had accessed to a family member, some of which was "extremely personal".
Miss Shan said: "He accessed her online shopping account and posted images on social media of lingerie she had ordered." She added that he also changed passwords on some of her social media accounts and remotely deleted pictures from her iCloud.
Victim impact and sentencing
In a victim impact statement, she said: "The final straw for me was when I was in hospital with my dying mother and found a second tracking device fitted to my vehicle. Losing my mother was devastating but discovering I had been monitored and controlled during that period compounded my grief and trauma."
"For a long time I normalised Michael's behaviour. I feel ashamed I didn't see it sooner but it's hard to accept I was living with a blindfold on."
"I simply couldn't believe what was happening to me, coming to terms with it has been overwhelming. This experience has completely destroyed my trust in men." The woman, who lives in Newcastle, now plans to move home.
Held, 47, of Elmgrove Estate, Hardwicke, Gloucester, who has seven previous convictions, for driving offences more than 20 years ago, admitted stalking involving serious fear or distress.
Recorder David Brooke KC told him: "I genuinely have worried about what to do with you. This is quite serious offending by you and it's persistent and sophisticated and it's mean, really."
"It happened on a number of occasions using different methods and it obviously did cause her anxiety and distress. Just, by a whisker, I can avoid immediate custody but I want you to know it was very close."
"This is intrusive, unpleasant behaviour by you. You frightened your former wife and understandably so by what you've done."
"It was scary what you have done and I am concerned. Be warned, if you do this sort of thing again you won't get a second chance."
Held was sentenced to two years suspended for two years with 150 hours unpaid work and he was also given a restraining order.
Ian Cook, defending, said the end of their relationship had devastated Held and the manner of it coming to an end sparked his "campaign of jealousy" and watching what she was up to. He added that he had behaved in an out of character way.
Mr Cook said Held claims the cameras belonged to someone else and that Held used them to "keep tabs" on the victim. He acknowledged there is "often a degree of minimisation in cases of this nature" but said Held is ashamed and remorseful and now in a new relationship.
