Amrit Magar, 35, left US Open champion Emma Raducanu feeling her "freedom has been taken away and constantly looking over her shoulder", Bromley Magistrates' Court heard as he was handed a five-year restraining order
Wednesday 23 February 2022 17:32, UK
A stalker who walked 23 miles to the home of British tennis star Emma Raducanu, taking her father's shoe as a souvenir, has been handed a five-year restraining order.
Amrit Magar, 35, left the 19-year-old US Open champion feeling her "freedom has been taken away and constantly looking over her shoulder", Bromley Magistrates' Court heard.
The former delivery driver, from Harrow, north-east London, turned up three times at Raducanu's south-east London home, once decorating a tree in the front garden with Christmas lights and leaving other decorations in a gift bag on her porch.
He also left a bouquet of flowers with a note reading "nothing to say but you deserve love", and posted a card including a hand-drawn map to show the "23 miles" he had walked from his home to the British No 1's address.
Magar, originally from Nepal, was arrested after Raducanu's father Ian was alerted to his presence by a doorbell camera, noticed a trainer he had left in the porch was missing, then followed him in his car.
Magar told officers he had been "drawn" to Raducanu "because of her high-profile status after her victory in the US Open" and had taken the shoe believing it belonged to her as a "souvenir".
He was last month found guilty of stalking between November 1 and December 4 after a trial and on Wednesday was handed a five-year restraining order by District Judge Sushil Kumar.
The order bans him from contacting Raducanu or her parents, coming within a mile of their street and attending any sports ground, stadium or training facility where she is in competition or attending to train.
He was also sentenced to an 18-month community order, including 200 hours of unpaid work and an eight-week curfew between 9pm and 6am monitored by an electronic tag.
Reading Raducanu's victim statement, prosecutor Denise Clewes said: "The incidents made her feel very apprehensive if she goes out.
"Her parents are reluctant to let her go out on her own.
"She feels her freedom has been taken away and is constantly looking over her shoulder."
The court heard that Raducanu no longer feels "safe in her own home" and the stalking has "put a lot of stress on the family".
"She feels her privacy has been invaded, which makes her feel uncomfortable and uneasy," said Ms Clewes.
Raducanu's father also made a statement, telling the court he is "very worried about his daughter's safety and security and concerned the man may want revenge" because he called the police.
He said the incident has highlighted "how exposed they are as a family and how easy it is to find where she lives".
Raducanu's mother, Renee, said the family "want to move house so they have better security and feel safer".
Sentencing Magar, who appeared in the dock wearing maroon trousers and a dark hooded coat, Mr Kumar said he had caused "some distress and some harm".
"There was some degree of planning, not least shown by the fact you walked 23 miles to attend Miss Raducanu's address," he said.
"Upon hearing the victim personal statements of Miss Raducanu and her family, it is very much apparent changes to their lifestyle have been contemplated and are currently in train, not least the acquisition of security, potentially, and also moving house."
The court heard that the first time married Magar, whose wife is a nurse, went to the area he asked neighbours for Raducanu's exact address.
Seval Dunn, defending, said: "He appears to me to be a fairly mild-mannered man.
"He has assured me nothing of this nature will ever happen again. He assured me he did not wish for Miss Raducanu to suffer in the way she describes suffering."
