Matthew Hardy, a cyberstalker who was given the longest custodial sentence in British history for stalking online, is the subject of a new Netflix documentary named “Can I Tell You A Secret?” The miniseries is based on a true crime podcast of the same name that examines the crimes of Hardy and introduces us to some of the women he targeted, as well as the police investigation that ultimately led to his conviction.
Over the course of 11 years, Hardy is believed to have stalked at least 62 victims using fake social media accounts before finally being convicted in 2022. In January of that year, he pleaded guilty to three counts of stalking with intent to cause alarm or distress, two counts of stalking without intent, and breaching an existing restraining order from 2013. He also confessed to stalking four more women simultaneously.
Hardy was sentenced to nine years in prison, but in October of the same year, his sentence was reduced to eight years on the grounds that the original sentence was too severe. According to his lawyer Sara Haque, this reduction was appropriate because Hardy’s mental illnesses, including Asperger’s and autism, caused him to lack empathy for those affected by his actions.
The judge who imposed the original sentence failed to take into account a change in the law regarding stalking offenses that occurred in April 2017, leading to the reduction. Despite this, Hardy is still serving his sentence as of February 2024. Donna, Hardy’s mother, revealed on the “Can I Tell You A Secret?” podcast in September 2022 that her son intends to avoid social media altogether when he is released from prison
Read the full article on NME here: Read More