A model who dubbed herself “Devil Baby” as she stalked and harassed Premier League stars Mason Mount, Ben Chilwell, and Billy Gilmour has been handed a suspended prison sentence
Orla Sloan, 21, bombarded the footballers with calls, texts, WhatsApp messages and Instagram posts after she slept with Mount once and he ended their brief romance.
She used an array of different phone numbers and social media accounts to continue pursuing the players, and made false claims to have fallen pregnant by Gilmour despite them never having sex.
Gilmour told Westminster magistrates court the campaign of stalking by Sloan affected his playing form, as he struggled to sleep and worried about the destruction she was causing to relationships with friends and family.
Sloan pleaded guilty last month to stalking involving fear of violence or serious alarm or distress against Gilmour, a charge of stalking England midfielder Mount, and a third allegation of harassing Chilwell.
At Westminster magistrates court on Tuesday afternoon, magiatrates sentenced her to 12 weeks in prison suspended for 18 months, with 30 days of rehabilitation sessions and 200 hours of community service.
Magistrate Alison Gowman said it was “a sustained and deliberate attempt to harass and stalk these individuals”.
Sloan was ordered to pay £500 compensation Gilmour, and £300 each to Mount and Chilwell.
The court heard Sloan met the Chelsea stars after she had set up an OnlyFans account, as part of her bid to become a social media influencer.
She met the players, all then playing for Chelsea, at a house party thrown by Chilwell in November 2020 and ended up sleeping with Mount.
“There was communication between them for around six months and Mr Mount decided that the relationship wasn’t going to progress any more”, prosecutor Jason Seetal told an earlier hearing.
“He decided to end contact with Ms Sloan.”
Mr Seetal said Mount then faced a “bombardment of messages” from Sloan, who ignored his requests to stop contact and she set up at least 21 different phone numbers to continue the pursuit.
The court heard Sloan sent the star a picture of herself buying a new phone number, along with the caption “I’m not buying food any more so I can get more numbers – I will be faster than you.”
“Some of the messages are apologetic, saying ‘I really wanted to say sorry to you, talk to me and let me know how you feel’”, said the prosecutor.
But he said Sloan then revealed her alter ego, telling Mount it is “a character called ‘devil baby’”, and adding: “You and Ben (Chilwell) will be destroyed”.
“Beware of devil baby Mason, I can morph at any second”, she wrote.
The court heard Sloan created an Instagram account devilbaby_10, dubbing Mount a “criminal”, posting collages of the player with other women, and attempting to contact his colleagues, friends and family.
“He was concerned she had an obsession or fixation with him and didn’t know what she could be capable of”, added Mr Seetal.
The court heard Sloan also posted collages of Chilwell while attempting to make contact with him, and made a claim online about his sexuality.
He sent her a message, reading: “Leave me, Mason and Billy alone to live our lives. This is getting weird and is harassment.”
Scottish international Gilmour told the court he made the move from Chelsea to Brighton in summer 2022, and found himself being bombarded with messages from Sloan while in an unfamiliar new home and away from his friends and family.
He had messaged her briefly after they met at the house party but then tried to cut off contact, the court heard
However she set about stalking him in summer 2022, claiming online to have fallen pregnant by the footballer.
“Mr Gilmour has never been in an intimate relationship with Ms Sloan”, said Mr Seetal.
In one message, she menacingly told him: “I will hunt you down”, and made “erratic and random” comments aimed at Gilmour and his family, the court heard
Outlining the impact of her behaviour, Gilmour said in a statement: “I was not able to sleep and had to take sleeping tablets on occasions.
“It had a knock-on effect on my performance”, adding that he was left “extremely stressed” and struck by “feelings of panic”.
“For a period of time I was consistently receiving notifications of messages from Orla, or contacted by people she was harassing.
“I was worried not only for myself but also those targeted by Orla.”
Gilmour said he cut off contact with friends and female acquaintances on social media to protect them from Sloan.
Michael Cogan, a barrister representing Sloan, said the offending began when she believed she was going to be in a relationship with Mount but he cut her off.
“Unfortunately Ms Sloan thought there was rather more to it than that”, he said. “She is not only young but also incredibly naive.”
He said Sloan had been “isolated” in the Covid lockdowns, then moved to London in her first experience of city life.
“She is extremely sorry she took matters to the level she did”, he said. “She publicly apologises to each and every one of the complainants in this case.”
Mr Cogan said Sloan is “addicted to social media”, telling the court she was “sucked into a a world of instant gratification achieved only by being seen with other more successful people.
“She is obsessed with the way she looks and how she feels other people view her.
“She has been extremely immature and naive”, he said, before complaining about media interest in her court case.
“She now has a better understanding of how this sort of thing affects others”, he said. “She has been in a sense a victim herself. On occasions since the last hearing, she was frightened to leave him on her own.
Sloan, who lived in Westminster in central London but gave an address to the court in Exeter, admitted stalking Mount from June to October 2022, harassing Chilwell at the end of October 2022, and stalking Gilmour between September 10 and October 28, 2022.
A five-year restraining order was imposed, banning her from contacting the footballers in the future.
She must also pay a £154 surcharge, £85 in costs, and £1100 in compensation.
