Matt WatsonAldergate House resident convicted of stalking neighbour
A resident of Aldergate House has been convicted of stalking after a court heard that he manipulated the building management system to interfere repeatedly with the daily life of a woman living in the same block.
Frank Keating, 64, targeted Margaret Ellison over a period of several months.
Prosecutors said the behaviour was difficult to identify at first because each incident appeared minor and could easily be explained as a technical fault.
At different times, the lift failed to stop at Margaret's floor, her entry fob stopped working for short periods, visitors were unable to reach her through the intercom and maintenance appointments were moved without her knowledge.
The court also heard that her laundry bookings were repeatedly changed, parcel collection codes occasionally failed and the communal lighting outside her flat would sometimes go out shortly before she returned home.
On several occasions the lift opened on the wrong floor late at night.
None of the incidents was serious on its own.
But over time Margaret began changing her routine around them.
She stopped returning home late. She became reluctant to use parts of the building alone. Friends visited less often after repeated problems gaining access.
Frank increasingly offered to help.
He let her into the building when her entry fob failed, dealt with maintenance staff on her behalf and began accompanying her through the building when she felt unsafe.
Margaret later told police that Frank seemed to appear whenever something went wrong.
Investigators discovered that Frank Keating had volunteered as a resident representative during a Verdant technology trial at Aldergate House. As part of the trial, he had been given elevated access to a building-management test account.
The system was administered by Verdant Solutions Ltd.
The prosecution said Keating had manipulated the building management system to create small, repeated disruptions around Margaret's routine and then recorded how she responded to them.
Recovered account data showed system changes linked to Margaret's flat followed by short internal notes recording what happened next.
Some were marked simply:
RESPONSE RECORDED
The court heard that on several occasions Margaret sought Frank's help shortly after one of the changes was made.
Keating denied making the alterations.
He was convicted of stalking involving serious alarm or distress and made subject to a restraining order prohibiting contact with Margaret Ellison.