A ‘creepy’ police CCTV operator was spared jail despite using his force’s camera system to stalk his former partner in an ‘insidious’ campaign which left her traumatised.
Russell Hasler, 43, received a suspended prison term for his horrendous behaviour against Stacey Joy – who he ‘controlled day and night’ and whose friends branded a ‘monster’.
As well as using the cameras, he also unlawfully accessed police logs and databases to access sensitive material to manipulate Ms Joy and ‘show off’ his power and importance.
Hasler began a relationship with Ms Joy in 2019 and had a daughter with her soon afterwards, who is now six.
But his controlling behaviour quickly became apparent – with him banning her from seeing friends or even going to work.
She planned to leave him but was forced to remain in the relationship by strict covid rules imposed on residents in Wales by then-first minister Mark Drakeford’s Labour government restricting travel.
Hasler was branded a ‘monster’ by Ms Joy’s friends – who said the lack of a prison sentence was a ‘kick in the teeth’.
One friend, who did not wish to be named, said: ‘Russell was a monster. He controlled Stacey day and night. He wouldn’t let her see friends or work.
‘He is a really nasty piece of work and the fact that he avoided jail for the torment he out her through for years is a kick in the teeth for her.
‘He should be behind bars, not doing a few hours community work. Where’s the justice?’
Hasler – who worked as a civilian CCTV camera operator at Dyfed-Powys Police’s Carmarthen headquarters – was sentenced at Swansea Crown Court on Monday.
Bethan Evans, prosecuting, said Ms Joy described him as a ‘Jekyll and Hyde-type character’ whose mood could change quickly, and how she felt like she was always ‘walking on eggshells around him’.
The court heard the defendant used his position with the police to track his partner’s movements on CCTV cameras in West Wales.
He would let her know what he was doing by taking still pictures of her from the live footage and then sending them to her – captioning one with the word ‘stalked’.
He even photographed Ms Joy’s mother and sent the picture to her phone, too, demanding to know where she was going.
Ms Evans said the victim found Hasler’s behaviour ‘creepy’, and that as a result of his monitoring her movements she became more reluctant to go out with friends as she always felt she was being followed.
The court heard that the defendant also repeatedly accessed the police intelligence database – known as ‘Storm logs’ – and told his partner about on-going incidents and police investigations.
He also accessed information about Ms Joy’s previous contact with the police, and about incidents involving her neighbours.
The court heard that following the ending of the couple’s relationship, Hasler accessed the Storm logs to find out information about her new partner, who she has since married.
Hasler was arrested in October 2023 by officers from his own force’s professional standards department. He resigned while under investigation.
In a victim impact statement, Ms Joy, now 33, and who has four other children, told the court she had suffered ‘chronic anxiety’.
She said: ‘There were times when the emotional pain, torment and relentlessness of the abuse became so overwhelming that I questioned whether I could carry on’.
In a pre-sentence report, the court heard Hasler, of Llandysul, Ceredigion, accepted he had been ‘showing off his power and importance’.
He pleaded guilty to engaging in controlling and coercive behaviour and to a breach of data protection laws at a previous hearing.
The court heard he had past issues with substance abuse and two previous convictions – the last from 2009 – plus four cautions.
Ryan Bowen, defending, said at the age of 27, he had ‘turned his face against those substances’ and had then been out of trouble for more than a decade.
He said the defendant has an adult son and a young daughter, and that he acts as a stepfather to his new partner’s children.
He added that the new partner – to whom Hasler is engaged – is nine weeks pregnant.
Sentencing, Judge Huw Rees said Hasler had mounted a ‘cunning plan’ to control Ms Joy – and described his behaviour as ‘insidious’.
The judge said he misused his position at Dyfed-Powys Police ‘to satisfy your paranoia and or insecurity’.
DC Simon Reynolds, of Dyfed-Powys Police’s Professional Standards Department, called Hasler’s behaviour a ‘betrayal of the standards the public should rightly expect’ from a police officer.
He added: ‘No one should feel frightened or controlled in their own lives and I want to commend the victim for (her) courage in coming forward.’
Hasler was sentenced to 17 months in prison, suspended for 18 months, and was ordered to complete a rehabilitation course, plus 180 hours of unpaid work in the community.
He received a further fine of £500 for the data breach.
