A fitness instructor falsely accused a married father of rape after he broke off their relationship to get back with his wife.
Rebecca Hooper, 43, bugged her gym buddy’s car and bombarded him with abuse on social media after ending their “casual” relationship.
Her partner, Brian Townsend, 47, also harassed the father-of-two’s family after finding messages between the pair.
She even made abusive calls to him accusing him of being a rapist and showed up at his home to tell his daughter that her father was a “sexual predator.”
The pair have now avoided jail after receiving 16-month suspended sentences and restraining orders banning them from contacting their victims for ten years following a trial at Newport Crown Court.
Fitness instructor Rebecca Hooper (pictured) falsely accused a married father of rape after he broke off their relationship to get back with his wife.
Hooper is pictured with her husband Brian Townsend, 47, who also took part in the harassment campaign.
Prosecutor Christopher Evans said Hooper and the older man had met at Bridgend Life gym, where she worked as a fitness instructor, and began a “casual relationship”.
The victim then broke the “friends with benefits” agreement after returning to his wife.
Hooper began bombarding the man with messages encouraging him to rekindle the relationship and would go through his Facebook pages commenting on old photos.
She even sent his wife a friend request after he blocked her on social media and WhatsApp before sending him a letter accusing her husband of being a rapist.
She reported the incident to the police, who arrested him but took no further action.
The married father of two also had a tire on his pickup truck deliberately punctured and Hooper was seen placing a tracking device on the vehicle.
Mr Evans said: “This behaviour caused him great distress and paranoia. He was constantly on the lookout for them.
‘He began travelling on different routes and making his journeys longer than usual. He deactivated social media accounts so the defendants could not contact him and stopped attending the swimming pool, the gym and his son’s rugby matches.
“He and his family were deeply affected by the rape allegation.”
Hooper and Townsend, of Bryntirion, Bridgend, initially denied wrongdoing but both later pleaded guilty to harassment.
In a statement to the court, the victim said: “The last 12 months have been hell for me and my family. The suffering we will continue to face today and in the future.
‘I don’t think we can ever recover from this horrible crime, something I never wanted to go through.
‘I’m emotionally devastated, my family is devastated. I wake up sweating, I have trouble sleeping and I’m always paranoid and worried about my family.
The pair were given 16-month suspended sentences and restraining orders banning them from contacting their victims for 10 years after a trial at Newport Crown Court (pictured)
“I’m worried about them showing up at the front door. I make sure the windows and doors of our homes are locked.
“We feel like prisoners in our own home and in our own community. I avoid the Bridgend area because I am scared of seeing Rebecca and Brian.
“She accused me of rape. That’s not true and it was reflected in the outcome of that investigation, but it will be recorded in stone. It breaks my heart every day to think about what people might say as a result of her actions.”
Giles Hayes, defending Hooper, said she had an “inability” to deal with the end of the affair.
Trial judge Neil Owen-Casey said Hooper had “an extreme reaction to the breakdown of a relationship”.
He ordered each to pay £500 compensation and £150 costs, in addition to suspended prison sentences and restraining orders.
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