Home and Away catfisher has jail sentence increased
A woman who posed as Home and Away actor Lincoln Lewis to catfish online victims and stalk multiple women has had her prison sentence increased after losing her appeal.
Lydia Abdelmalek, 32, was sentenced to four years imprisonment at the County Court of Victoria earlier this week, an increase of one year and four months on the original sentence handed down around three years ago.
Judge Claire Quin said she regarded Lydia’s offences as a “very serious example of stalking” and material she had received from the victims demonstrated the “cruel, brutal and ongoing impact” it had on them and their families.
“Despite the content of some of the material being reflective of a fictional soap opera, it was not fantasy. It was real and impacted real people,” Judge Quin said.
“What may begin as lighthearted can quickly escalate and have significant consequences for the psychological wellbeing of those to whom the ruse is directed.”
“It was persistent and malicious.”
Judge Quin also noted that Abdelmalek showed no remorse for her crimes, even after one of her victims took her own life.
Abdelmalek used various online personas over several years, including former Home and Away actor Lincoln Lewis and British soap star Danny Mac, to catfish and stalk people online from 2011.
Judge Quin suggested Abdelmalek’s offending may have been driven by a “number of complex personality factors”.
“Her behaviour has been driven by a wish to seek relational intimacy and wish fulfilment on a background of perceived inadequacy,” she said.
She was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison in the Heidelberg Magistrates Court back in June 2019.
She was later released on bail after she appealed the conviction but failed to overturn the six counts of stalking earlier this year.
Image credits: County Court of Victoria