An Edgeware man has been jailed for three and a half years after breaching the restraining order which prevents him from harassing a woman he had previously stalked for 12 years.

40 year old Elliot Fogel from Stanway Gardens was found guilty at Harrow Crown Court of breaching the order by issuing a libel claim against 38 year old Claire Waxman and of storing information about her.

Claire became an anti-stalking campaigner after her experiences with him in the past.

He alleged she’d libelled him in interviews, and he pursued a High Court libel case against her as a means of harassment.

Prosecutor Rufus D’Cruz told the court that Fogel’s case was

[A] dishonest and devious means to continue a campaign of harassment by manipulating the civil court process and bringing a bogus and baseless action to cause Ms Waxman and her family distress and alarm.

The court heard how Fogel has been the subject of two harassment warnings, five previous criminal trials and has brought three civil actions all against the same victim.

She waived her right to anonymity, and has now set up a website for stalking victims named ‘Voice 4 Victims’ and lobbied for laws on stalking to be reformed.

Claire Waxman’s website.

Detective Constable Daniel Candler of Barnet Borough Police said:

I am very pleased with the verdict of the jury who were able to see though Elliot Fogel’s cynical attempts to subvert the civil judicial system in order to continue his twelve year campaign of harassment against Mrs Waxman. There were a number of complex issues arising from the previous five criminal and three civil cases that had to be consolidated.

From the outset of this investigation, police and CPS (Special Case Unit) worked in partnership to ensure that the full import of Mr Fogel’s offending was brought to the attention of the court. I hope that this outcome will bring Mr Fogel’s stalking to an end and send out a clear message that deliberately misusing civil litigation to harass and stalk victims, can and will be subject to criminal investigation.

Today’s sentence reflects the seriousness of Mr Fogel’s offending; especially in light of his appalling abuse of the civil court system to victimise Mrs Waxman. He is now subject to further limitation by means of Restraining and Criminal Behaviour Orders (CRIMBO) to hopefully curtail any future attempts to subvert the courts and plague the lives of Mrs Waxman and her family. We all hope though that this will finally mark the end of his offending.