Man served with AVO after turning up on Sophie Monk’s doorstep
A man has been served with an AVO after he turned up at Sophie Monk’s home clutching a single red rose; claiming he was the victim of an elaborate catfishing scam that robbed him of $7,000.
Brian Rapley said police questioned him “like I was some crazed stalker” but insisted that he had months of messages on his phone between him and the person he had believed to be Monk.
“I feel like such an idiot,” he told the Daily Telegraph. “But I thought we were in a relationship."
Police were called on April 25 to Monk’s NSW Central Coast home after a man was spotted outside at 7:30am calling her name. He returned later that evening and was swarmed by police.
Rapley, 49, said five police cars descended on him.
"They said to me, ‘What are you here to do to Sophie Monk?’ and I said, ‘I’m here to meet her for the first time, we are in a relationship'."
Monk wasn’t home at the time as she was with her husband Joshua Gross in Queensland filming a movie Zombie Plane with US entertainer Vanilla Ice.
“I do not know any person by the name of Brian Rapley. I am not in a relationship with anyone by the name of Brian Rapley. I am currently happily married to my husband Joshua Gross,” Monk said in a statement to police.
Rapley wasn’t officially charged but was served with an AVO and told not to approach the TV personality.
He had told police that he genuinely believed it was Monk he was communicating with after he left a message on her verified Instagram account.
“Then next thing I get a message from another account but with the same profile pic as Sophie, saying, ‘Hey, it's Sophie … let’s chat here, my manager reads my official account, so this is better,’” he told the Daily Telegraph.
Over the span of four months, he said he and the person he believed to be Monk spoke regularly.
Rapley showed the outlet the multiple messages he claimed he thought were from the star.
One of the messages to him read, “I love you”.
However, there were telling signs that it was likely a scam as the “relationship” never moved from messaging to phone calls.
“I did think that was weird. I was like ‘If you are who you say you are, you could walk into a shop and get a new phone for free’”.
However, the account explained that their phone was broken and they were too busy to buy a new one.
Rapley then said he fell for a scam in which the person he thought was Monk said she was “getting all this money” but asked him to send her cash in the meantime.
When he questioned why he would be sending money to such a high-profile celeb, he was told it was just “bank account drama”.
He then revealed that the person he was messaging provided him with Monk’s address and told him to meet her there on April 25 so they could finally meet face-to-face.
Rapley said he was embarrassed.
“Look, I know it sounds stupid … I look like a right fool but the truth is I’m just lonely, and I believed her.”
Image credit: Getty