A domestic abuse campaigner confided in a childhood pal that she was living in fear of a ‘depraved’ stalker – then found out it was him all along.

Paris Shears, 31, was terrified when she started receiving Instagram messages containing deepfake porn images just weeks after her abusive ex was sent to prison.

They ratcheted up over the coming months and included AI-generated nude videos of her as well as parcels containing her underwear.

Police were unable to trace the social media messages, which were sent from bogus accounts with IP addresses outside the UK, leaving Paris having to sleep with a knife under her bed to feel protected.

She confided in close friend Jakob Emmanuel Ward, 28, about her worries and said: ‘He was supporting me.

‘I would send him a message and tell him how I was going on and how I was feeling, and he would message me back with encouraging words.

‘He knows my history. He knows everything that I have been through, and he always knew the right things to say.

‘He’d say, “you will get through this, you have overcome tough things before”.’

Just a month before the messages began, her ex-partner Robert Lee Hastings had been convicted of intentional strangulation and assault by beating at Southampton Crown Court in April 2026.

Paris’ petition for the UK Government to remove sentencing reductions for late guilty pleas reached 100,000 signatures in May.

The ordeal culminated with a sinister message on August 3 reading: ‘Did you get your parcel? It was left at the end of your road.’

Mum-of-three Paris, from Southampton, said the location made her think her ex was behind it all, because a restraining order was in place barring him from entering her road.

Inside the parcel were four sheets of paper with images of her, including deepfakes, along with a love letter and a bag of semen.

‘He said I could insert it into myself,’ Paris said. ‘I didn’t believe that it was his semen. I thought it was moisturiser or something.’

She added: ‘I was like, what the f**k, what is this? What kind of person would do this?

‘It was the instant realisation that this person had been in my home and got my things.’

After receiving the package, Paris said she slept with a knife under her bed and had given her friends instructions on what to do if she killed someone.

Paris said: ‘I told my friends and family that someone will leave this house in a body bag. I said I will fight to the death for my children.

‘I am all they have – it was such a horrifying prospect.

‘I had to set up CCTV cameras; I would spend hours and hours watching them. The smallest noise would scare me.’

Weeks later, DNA led police to the person responsible – and the revelation left Paris horrified.

‘It was horrendous, especially when I found out that the person responsible for this was someone I knew, someone I trusted,’ Paris says. ‘He was a brother in every sense of the word apart from biologically.

‘We had known each other since we were 16. He came into my life as my sister’s boyfriend.

‘As a family, we took him in. He was there through everything. It was such a deep family connection.

‘He remained a key part of our family and was there throughout the highs and the lows.’

In a statement read to the court, Paris revealed the devastating impact of the ordeal.

She wrote: ‘I was denied the opportunity to consent. I feel as though I have been sexually assaulted in a way that is very difficult to explain.’

But even with Ward behind bars, Paris says the fear is far from over and is worried he will be let out early under the Government’s early release scheme – and reoffend.

She says: ‘I thought, “Great, now I have nine months to pack up my house and move elsewhere”. I don’t think he will stop – he will be very angry.

‘I have always been opposed to the early release scheme. I call this the victims’ punishment policy. It’s shocking. I do not understand the logic.’

And Ward isn’t the only man whose actions have left Paris fighting to regain control of her life.

While she’s still dealing with the impact of Ward’s stalking campaign, she is also campaigning for changes to the justice system after her former partner, Robert Lee Hastings, 31, was convicted of domestic abuse offences against her.

In April, Hastings was convicted of intentional strangulation and assault by beating and was jailed for 18 months at Southampton Crown Court.

She’s now campaigning for Paris Law, which would remove sentence reductions for late guilty pleas and prevent abusers from continuing to exercise control ‘through the justice system’.

Her petition has already been debated in Parliament, and she hopes the proposed changes will become law across the UK.

She says: ‘I am really optimistic. I have meetings with ministers scheduled later this year, support for Paris’s Law from MPs. This is just the beginning.’

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