James McCabe to be sentenced for stalking celebrity Sophie Monk

SOPHIE Monk’s stalker was so obsessed with her he followed her every move and had violent fantasies about the former popstar.

Sophie Monk, Pumped n ready to take over the world today! I'm just gonna go back to bed first. emoji#thebagundermyeyeisprada Picture: sophiemonk/Instagram

A MAN who stalked celebrity Sophie Monk, sending violent and sexually suggestive messages by social media, will be sentenced this afternoon

James Scott McCabe, who lives in Launceston, will soon learn his punishment for subjecting Ms Monk to years of fear and anxiety.

However the 31-year-old is unlikely to face time behind bars.

Magistrate Sharon Cure has previously indicated McCabe’s mental health status makes him ineligible to serve jail time.

At a previous hearing McCabe pleaded guilty to sending countless violent and sexually suggestive social media messages to the star, dating back to 2010, after he became obsessed as a teenager when Monk appeared on the TV show Popstars.

Sophie Monk found James McCabe’s conduct “creepy and alarming”.

Sophie Monk had been stalked online by James McCabe since she appeared on Popstars.

McCabe used Facebook and Twitter to send messages, which included “ramblings” about god, satan, Hitler and war, prosecutor Kerryne Barwick told Launceston Magistrate’s Court last week. When Monk returned from a stint living overseas in late 2013 the harassment escalated.

“He describes what appear to be hallucinations of her being raped,” Ms Barwick said.

“He also describes himself masturbating while thinking of her.” In one message McCabe said he must kill Monk and them himself so they can be together.

Monk contacted police in December 2013 out of fear for the safety of her family.

She repeatedly “blocked” McCabe on social media, but he would set up accounts in a different name and continue the harassment. Monk found the messages “creepy and alarming”, felt anxious and afraid and was forced to shut down her accounts which she needed for work, the court heard.

Sophie Monk called police in 2013 because she feared for her safety.

Magistrate Sharon Cure asked what Monk’s business was and why it relied on social media.

“It is essentially the business of being famous,” Ms Barwick replied.

Defence lawyer James Oxley outlined McCabe’s lengthy history of illicit drug abuse and mental health problems, including schizophrenia.

The magistrate had planned to sentence McCabe last week but said she needed more time to decide the penalty and take into account his mental health conditions.

“But for these factors he would be facing a substantial term of imprisonment,” she said.

Originally published as James McCabe to be sentenced for stalking celebrity Sophie Monk