Ex-cop Jim Morakis pleads not guilty to stalking charge after woman alleges he used fake LinkedIn accounts to harass her

A woman has been left “embarrassed and mortified” as she alleges an ex-cop used fake LinkedIn accounts to post “damaging” remarks about her and her partner.

Former Senior Constable Jim Morakis has denied allegations that he used fake accounts on LinkedIn to harrass a woman.

An ex-cop has denied stalking allegations over nasty social media posts, which left a woman “professionally embarrassed and mortified”.

Former senior constable Jim Morakis pleaded not guilty in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, fighting one charge of using a carriage service in a way that a reasonable person would regard as menacing, harassing or offensive.

The court heard a female member of the police force (legal note: use “woman” if female member is too close to ID) had reported several damaging LinkedIn posts on pages relating to her work area, which specifically targeted her and her partner.

The posts – made over three days in June 2023 – came from two confirmed fake accounts, leaving the woman feeling “disgusted” and “mortified”.

The woman has alleged two accounts using fake names posted “damaging” comments about her and her partner over three days in 2023.

In court on Tuesday, the woman said her “heart sank” when she discovered the posts, which included an image of her and her partner on holiday.

“I was really upset and bothered because I couldn’t figure out how anyone had access to the photo,” she said.

“I was professionally embarrassed and mortified.”

The court heard the woman and her partner received “dozens of phone calls and messages” following the posts.

“My view was the posts caused me significant professional damage from both the people and organisations the posts went to,” she told the court.

After discovering the first post in June last year, over three days the woman said she found several similarly worded posts with the same damaging content across LinkedIn.

She then reported the posts to police.

Mr Morakis will return to Melbourne Magistrates’ Court in November. Picture: Penny Stephens

The court heard police conducted a raid on Mr Morakis’ Moorabbin home in August 2023, where they seized an iPhone and laptop from his bedroom.

In evidence heard from a forensic analyst and the police informant, both devices were analysed and had IP searches conducted on them through Optus.

Police have alleged one of the fake accounts was attached to an IP address owned by Mr Morakis’ father, who lived at the Moorabbin address with the ex-cop.

The other account had an encrypted IP address, stopping police from locating its source.

The court heard further police investigations found one of the accounts – where the owner purported to work for National Australia Bank – was confirmed fake; after liaisons with the major bank revealed nobody with the name had ever worked there.

After the finalisation of evidence on Tuesday afternoon, Magistrate Leon Fluxham adjourned the matter for parties to submit final written submissions.

Mr Morakis will return to Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on November 12.