Scotland star Billy Gilmour was left taking sleeping tablets after being bombarded with messages by a social media influencer who claimed she was pregnant. TikToker Orla Melissa Sloan, 21, admitted stalking the Premier League midfielder as well as his former Chelsea FC teammates Mason Mount, 24, and Ben Chilwell, 26.
Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard how Sloan’s behaviour had a “huge impact” on the Gilmour’s life after he joined Brighton FC in September last year. The court heard how Mr Gilmour had initially exchanged messages with Sloan before telling her he did not want their contact to continue and did not have a relationship with her.
But she claimed to have fallen pregnant in allegations described in court as “completely fictitious”. Gilmour, from Ardrossan, said: “I have not been able to sleep and have had to take sleeping tablets. It’s had a negative effect on my performance and professional life.
“Being in a new town where I don’t have my friends or family, it’s really upsetting. I don’t know who I can trust anymore. Some of the information would only have been known by people close to me.”
During the hearing on Wednesday, the court was told that Sloan had slept with Mason Mount, who had surgery on a pelvic injury last month, after they met at a party at his England teammate Mr Chilwell’s home in November 2020.
Prosecutor Jason Seetal said they stayed in contact for around six months before Mr Mount "decided that the relationship was not going to progress".
"Upon informing Miss Sloan of this he has been subjected to a bombardment of messages,” he said. "He began asking her to stop messaging him before blocking the number.
“He then began to receive messages from new numbers and each time he would block those numbers there would be messages from a different number.” Mr Seetal said a total of 21 different numbers were used to contact Mr Mount with some messages including collages of photos of the player with other women.
The court heard that in one message from an Instagram account using the name “Devil Baby”, she said: “I can morph at any time so let me apologise and set things right.” Another showed an Apple account buying a new number for £12.99 with the words: “I’m not buying food anymore so I can get more numbers. I will be faster than you.”
Mr Seetal said Mr Mount was “concerned she had an obsession or fixation with him and he didn’t know what she was capable of”. In a statement, Mr Mount said: “Miss Sloane knows roughly where I live and where I train.
“I’m worried that if she is unable to contact me she might turn up at my training centre.” The court heard other messages were aimed at professional footballers, friends and family members, including left-back Mr Chilwell.
Sloan, from Exeter, pleaded guilty to causing “serious alarm or distress” by stalking Mr Gilmour between September 10 and October 28 last year. She also admitted stalking Mr Mount between June 19 and October 28 last year, as well as causing harassment to Mr Chilwell between October 20 and October 29 2022.
District Judge Neeta Minhas adjourned sentencing to June 20 for reports to be prepared, telling her the most serious offence, against Mr Gilmour, crossed the custody threshold. She was granted unconditional bail.
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