A "delusional" stalker has received a suspended sentence and will be extradited to the United States after leaving actress Claire Foy feeling "fearful".
Jason Penrose, 49, was handed a sentence of one year and 10 months imprisonment - suspended for two years - at the Old Bailey on Friday. In November he admitted to stalking The Crown actress between August 2021 and February 2022.
He also pleaded guilty to two charges of breaching an interim stalking ban order by posting a letter and parcel to the Stockport-born actress. In July, Penrose was handed a stalking protection order after sending Foy thousands of emails and even turning up at her door.
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On Friday, Judge David Aaronberg KC said he remains "troubled" that Penrose, a paranoid schizophrenic, "may continue to be infatuated with Ms Foy". Despite his delusions, Foy has repeatedly told him that she wants no contact with him.
Under the conditions of his suspended sentence, Penrose must remain under the care of a psychiatrist in the UK until he is repatriated to the US, which he must fully comply with. The court heard how he will return to Florida in order to live with his mother and receive further psychiatric care.
However, if he returns to the UK, he must notify the Metropolitan Police of his arrival and inform them of how long he intends to stay and where he will stay. Judge Aaronberg also handed out a restraining order, banning Penrose from contacting Ms Foy both directly or indirectly.
He is also barred from entering the London boroughs of Camden and Islington unless he has to collect his US passport. Furthermore, he is prohibited from going within 100 metres of any premises which he knows, or has reason to believe, that Ms Foy will be present.
The judge said Ms Foy has “become scared and suspicious of post she does not recognise and of her front doorbell ringing” in the wake of the stalking.
He added: “She told the police she was frightened to leave her property in case you might follow her.”
Quoting a statement from the actress, he said: “I feel like the freedoms I enjoyed before Mr Penrose contacted me have now gone. I view the world in a much more fearful way.”
The court also heard how the Home Office records showed that Penrose attempted to seek permission to enter the UK in October 2021, but was refused entry. The judge said there is no record of him being cleared for “lawful entry to the UK” and that he was liable to be deported had he not voluntarily agreed to return to the US.
Following the sentence, Varinder Hayre, district crown prosecutor for CPS London North, said: “Stalking is a devastating crime that can ruin the lives of victims. Victims often feel as though their lives have been invaded, which can leave a huge mark that long outlives the offending.
“No-one should be made to feel unsafe in their home or their life. We take stalking cases extremely seriously and will always endeavour to prosecute this type of offending wherever the legal test is met.”
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