Man handed hospital order for stalking social media influencer

A man has been handed a hospital order after he harassed a woman online and travelled to Bali to try to locate her.

Rob Keating, 40, of Old Crawley Road in Horsham, but previously of Havant, was found guilty of two offences of stalking involving fear of violence, following a seven-day trial at Portsmouth Crown Court which concluded on Wednesday 14 May.

The court heard how Keating had begun contacting a woman who works as a travel influencer on social media, via Instagram in June 2022, but the two had never met in person.

The messages Keating sent were constant and so concerning in nature that the woman blocked him on the platform, hoping that this would make him stop.

However, after being blocked on Instagram, Keating then started to contact the woman via her personal email address, despite having never been given her details.

Keating continued his constant harassment and would send screenshots of various things the woman had posted on her Instagram, demonstrating that he was accessing her account from other secret accounts.

The woman reported that over a six-month period, she received hundreds of emails and 30 videos from Keating.

In December 2022, she received an email from Keating in which he threatened to kidnap her and sent links to videos he had made further threatening to kidnap and rape her. He also sent her a photo of a body in a suitcase, alongside videos of him threatening to do the same to her.

Keating threatened to travel to Bali, Indonesia, where the woman lives, to kidnap her and began sending her evidence that he had obtained flight tickets and a visa to Indonesia.

This then escalated into sending photos from locations in Bali that she frequented, as well as from locations near to her address.

After the woman’s friends saw Keating in person close to her address, the woman fled to a friend’s address and contacted local police, before later leaving the country fearing for her safety.

On Monday 6 March 2023, Keating was arrested at Gatwick Airport on suspicion of stalking. However, more than a year later while he remained under investigation he contacted the woman again and posted to his own Instagram account a video about the woman, as well as screenshots of flights to Bali with the caption ‘Round Two’.

Keating was further arrested on suspicion of stalking on Monday 11 November 2024 and was charged and remanded into custody the following day.

A jury found Keating guilty of two stalking involving fear of violence offences on 15 May 2025 at Portsmouth Crown Court.

Following assessments by psychiatric experts, he appeared again at the same court today (Monday 22 June 2026), where he was sentenced to a Hospital Order with no limitation on time under Section 37 of the Mental Health Act 1983, with an additional Restriction Order under Section 41 of the act. He is also subject to an indefinite restraining order.

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary take all reports of this nature extremely seriously. If you feel you may be a victim of stalking, you can report this to us by calling 101 or online via Report a crime | Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary

Not everyone who has been affected by stalking or abuse has the confidence to report to police. There are support services out there that can offer help to you, completely independent of the police, should you need support. For more information on which agencies near you can provide you with support, please visit our website:  https://www.hampshire.police.uk/advice/advice-and-information/sh/stalking-harassment/support-victims-harassment/

If a crime is in progress, or you feel in immediate danger, always call 999.