The family of a lady who committed suicide after Lydia Abdelmalek of Melbourne stalked and tormented her has requested that the court lengthen her prison term.
Abdelmalek, 32, used his impersonations of British actor Danny Mac and Home and Away hunk Lincoln Lewis to seduce women online before pursuing and harassing them.
She was convicted of six stalking counts more than three years ago, but while she was attempting to appeal, she was released on bail.
Abdelmalek was re-arrested after Victoria’s County Court upheld the guilty decision against her in May. She made an appearance in court on Tuesday to contest her two years, eight months of imprisonment.
In impact statements given to the court, five of Abdelmalek’s victims called her a “evil opponent” and a “delusional liar” who had no remorse for her deeds.
In 2018, one of her victims committed suicide. Her family claimed that the drawn-out legal process had exacerbated their pain and delayed their grieving.
The woman’s sister testified in court on Tuesday, “We have lived and breathed this nightmare for the past eleven years.”
The senseless loss we experience and the life sentence my family and I have been unfairly given cannot be lessened by the fact that justice has, in my opinion, come too late for my sister.
She urged the court to lengthen Abdelmalek’s sentence as a result of the appeal because she “is a menace to society.”
“More over three years ago, a sentence of two years and eight months was handed down. In the time it took for this appeal to be decided, my family have completed that sentence, she claimed.
“I hope that Ms. Abdelmalek’s previous sentence will be lengthened to reflect everything she has put [her sister] through and everything our family has gone through,” she said.
May this story soon come to the conclusion we so badly want and surely deserve.
She also demanded that laws be modified to enable police to take complaints from catfishing and cyberbullying victims more seriously and to expedite the prosecution of such instances.
Abdelmalek’s stalking and cyberbullying, according to the woman’s father, sent his daughter down a path of “total misery.”
Her mother claimed that going through three court trials and repeating her daughter’s ordeal had brought her sadness to the surface.
A second stalking victim testified in court that Abdelmalek’s legal challenges to her conviction and sentencing had caused her to once again live in fear.
She urged Judge Claire Quin to “send a message” by utilising the appeal.
She stated, “We shouldn’t foster an environment that suggests that this behaviour or any other type of internet abuse is appropriate.”
“The appellant’s conduct must have serious enough repercussions that they serve as a deterrent, not only for them but for anyone else considering this kind of assault,” the court stated.
The appeal will return in September.
