Met Detective Guilty Of Posting Fake Prostitute Leaflets Advertising Ex-Girlfriend

Guilty: Ian Mangham

A detective sergeant's twenty-six year career in the Met is in tatters and he faces the prospect of jail for harassing his ex with fake leaflets advertising her services as a prostitute.

Ian Mangham, 50, who wooed the mother-of-two when she reported her ex-husband to police placed the ads in local pub toilets and phone boxes.

It was revenge after business development manager Agnes Collowey, 38, dumped him and as a result she received phone calls and knocks on her door at all hours of the night.

Mangham, of Baldwins Hill, Loughton, Essex denied, but was convicted of harassing her between October 23, 2014 and April 1, last year.

He was bailed to return to Hammersmith Magistrates Court for sentencing on May 16 and District Judge Quentin Purdy told him: "You are at genuine risk of immediate custody.

"I come to that conclusion with a heavy heart. I am aware of the consequences for a serving police officer, but the evidence was overwhelming."

Mangham was also the author of a hand-written note Agnes found stuffed in the letterbox of her Highams Park, Chingford home which read: 'Romanian whore. Dirty prostitute, get out of our street.'

She was also bombarded with junk mail, catalogues and brochures after Mangham completed hand-written coupons in her name for products and services.

A handwriting expert confirmed there was a "very strong" probability he was the author of the coupons and prosecutor Mr. Michael Mallon said: "It's clear there is an obsession here."

One order was for jewellery engraved with the words: 'To My Best Lover' and 'To My Beloved Friend,' and another was for adult films.

They were together over four years after Agnes was forced to attend Hornsey Police Station when her troublesome ex-husband reported her missing.

"A few months after we broke up he was trying to persuade me to get back together with him," she told the court. "I tried to tell him that we were so different there was no point continuing."

She moved out in July, 2014, but Mangham turned up on the doorstep of her new home at 10.30pm three months later. "I was angry," she recalled

He then launched the harassment campaign, initially with the junk mail bombardment. "Letters were coming every day from different companies.

Harassed: Agnes Collowey

"Some were very upsetting, like one which offered to look after my dog after my death and I received a letter from an undertaker's and a mobility company."

Calls from local men seeking sex then began. "One called for sexual services and said he found my number in the mens toilet of a Chingford pub.

"I was constantly receiving text messages and some were very rude and I had people knocking on my door in the middle of the night."

One call was from a pub at the end of her road and another from a phone box opposite Highams Park train station, where a leaflet advertised Agnes's address and phone number.

"It made me feel scared and uncomfortable in my own home with my son. I feared for my safety," Agnes told the court, adding she also received mystery "aggressive" texts and had her dustbins pushed over.

Mangham told the court he was not behind the harassment campaign and denied there was anything inappropriate about having a relationship with a woman who had gone to the police.

"We just got talking and I believe her son took a liking to me," he said, denying there was ill-feeling after the split. "I had moved on and wished her well."

Mangham told the court he bought a home for himself and Agnes to live together in.

When she moved out he loaned her £3,600 to cover a deposit and rent for her new home, plus another £500 to help her set-up a massage business.

They continued to exchange texts and see each other in local pubs, even kissing on one occasion, which Mangham took as an indication they were back together.

"It was on," he told the court, explaining Agnes finally split with him in a text message.

He only turned up on the doorstep of her new home on October 24, 2014 to collect the money owed and not to harass her, Mangham claimed.

He agreed receiving a text from Agnes, which read: "This is harassment, I will report you to the police."

From that point on he said he had nothing more to do with her and the leaflets and junk mail must have been orchestrated by someone else.

He did admit reporting her to the benefits agency in November, 2014 and looking-up her new boyfriend's linkedIn page.