Unhinged Melbourne plumber Ashley Crabtree jailed after pleading guilty to stalking nurse

A frightened Melbourne nurse feared she would be “another statistic” after she was relentlessly hunted by an unhinged stalker.

Plumber Ashley Crabtree was jailed after he pleaded guilty to stalking a Melbourne nurse. Facebook.

A Melbourne plumber who left a nurse fearing she would be “another statistic” after he relentlessly stalked her over a 12-month period has been jailed.

Ashley Crabtree, 30, was sentenced in the County Court on Thursday to two years and eight months in jail before being eligible for parole, after pleading guilty to stalking.

Crabtree stalked multiple people including a Melbourne nurse during a “planned and premeditated” 12-month harassment campaign.

The court heard Crabtree unleashed hell after he targeted his first victim in July 2022.

“Your (sic) f--ked! I know where your parents live and I’ll find out where the f--k you live … I’m going to ruin you …,” Crabtree messaged the victim.

Crabtree, who pleaded guilty to burglary and intentionally destroy property, tracked down the victim’s St Kilda East complex.

The stalker sprayed graffiti in the corridor just outside the door to the victim’s apartment in July last year.

“I ToLd U I would FIND U NICE … LOAN (let) THE GAMES BEGIN” the menacing graffiti message read.

Crabtree, a plumber, also attached a tracking device to a nurse’s car which he monitored between July 6 and July 28 last year.

The court heard Crabtree, who also pleaded guilty to install, use and maintain a tracking device, zip-tied the Samsung Galaxy SmartTag to the car undercarriage to “avoid detection”.

Crabtree attached a tracking device to his victim’s car.

Crabtree also approached the nurse shortly after she had parked her vehicle at her secure underground South Yarra car park.

Crabtree, who wore a motorcycle helmet, opened her car door and entered the vehicle.

“Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you …,” Crabtree told the frightened victim.

The victim drove her and Crabtree out of the car park and got him out of the car before she made her getaway.

The nurse later spotted Crabtree following her home from Auburn station.

Crabtree also “slowly drove past her vehicle” after the nurse visited her partner during a later incident

The nurse confronted Crabtree and told him she was going to the police but he told the victim he had obtained her work shift schedule.

Police attempted to arrest Crabtree at his South Melbourne apartment on July 28.

Crabtree, who pleaded guilty to assaulting a detective, fled to a neighbouring apartment via a rear balcony.

Crabtree put a detective in a headlock and punched him after police found him hiding under a bed at the next door apartment.

Crabtree was detained after he attempted to flee by jumping off the balcony.

A person who knows Crabtree told the Herald Sun the stalker is a “complete psycho”.

Crabtree attempted to evade police arrest.

Police analysed Crabtree’s phone and discovered evidence including screenshots of locations recorded on the illegal tracking device, including residences linked to the nurse’s family and friends.

Police also found a note Crabtree wrote which detailed a victim’s workplace.

Crabtree made 442 internet searches which related to the first victim’s address and a further 89 searches related to the nurse’s address.

Investigators discovered the tracking device after finding a bluetooth connection linking Crabtree’s phone to the nurse’s car.

“After the first time I heard the name Ashley Crabtree I’ve felt nothing but anger, shame and hurt,” a victim told the court.

“How can someone go to such lengths to pester, annoy and stalk …

“How can someone be so persistent into causing physical and psychological damage …

“The fact Ashley Crabtree has placed tracking devices … is an absolute disgrace and a serious invasion of our privacy …

“It leaves me with this sick feeling that we are always being watched … I find myself regularly checking my car for tracking devices or any other bizarre forms of location tracking …

“I generally have this unnerving feeling that someone is watching me or is waiting to attack me out of nowhere …

“This is a horrible feeling and has taken a significant toll on the way I go about my day to day life …

“I’ve been left with a frightened feeling that maybe next time it would not be a graffiti message that is left but something worse …

“It really highlights to me the persistency, the lack of regard of the law and general hunger to cause fear and pain …”

Crabtree traumatised his victims.

The nurse, who said she bought a new car and moved several times to escape Crabtree, also read her victim impact statement.

“This ongoing harassment has been a two-year nightmare in which I’ve never been able to truly feel safe..,” she said.

“Due to many unexpected visits that occurred by Ashley Crabtree I am constantly looking over my shoulder and I have an uneasy feeling as I wasn’t sure when he may arrive at my house or workplace … unannounced and unwelcome …

“I still feel frightened … I am constantly aware of the risk of being associated with me as a friend or family member as I feel they are at risk of being harmed …

“I am unable to relax … I worry that I will never be fully free of him, I’m scared that I will have to continue to move every few years in order to be safe …

“I will never be able to have a family in case that places them at risk … since I have experienced this harassment my life has significantly changed …

“I spend every day exposed to articles and watching the news about women who have been harmed by … violence and I am scared I will become another statistic …”

Crabtree was bashed at prison.

The defence submitted Crabtree, a plumber, was moved to pedophile prison Hopkins Correctional after he was bashed at Ravenhall.

The prosecution called for Crabtree, who has priors for burglary and stalking, to serve an immediate jail term.

“The gravity of offending is … fairly lengthy in duration …,” the prosecution submitted.

“It’s also planned and premeditated offending … the notes found on his phone are particularly concerning and invasive.”

Judge Peter Rozen said he “noted” Crabtree had a “high risk of stalking reoffending”.

“(The victims) should not live in fear,” Judge Rozen

Crabtree was jailed for a maximum of three years and 11 months.