Court told how serial stalker Gerard Henderson lied to magistrate, went after victim

A victim of a serial stalker has demanded answers over how a magistrate was shockingly duped after his release from jail, with details of his “terrifying” and “relentless” pursuit of her revealed.

A victim of a frightening serial stalker has faced her attacker in court and questioned how he was able to allegedly dupe a magistrate in his “relentless pursuit” of her a week after he was released from prison.

Sarah, not her real name, read out a gut-wrenching victim impact statement in the Geelong Magistrates Court outlining the lengths her attacker, Gerard Henderson, had gone “to ruin me”, saying she would live every day in fear of “becoming another statistic” if he was not jailed.

Henderson, 44, took less than 24 hours to continue his abuse after serving a six-month jail term for stalking her.

Convicted stalker Gerard Henderson.

The self-employed painter, from Torquay, has a lengthy and violent criminal history of stalking, threats and ignoring intervention orders committed against multiple victims.

In stunning claims, police prosecutors told the court investigators believe he had “used the justice system to further stalk, intimidate and harass” the terrified mother.

It is alleged he lied to a Geelong judge in court on May 1 after being granted a family violence intervention order (FVIO) where he named himself as the protected person.

He was also successful in varying a current FVIO protecting the victim, granting him access to contact her via letter, email or text message to negotiate financial issues.

Sarah was then served with the order by police, telling the court she thought the officers “might not have been real”.

Fighting back tears, she said she felt “helpless, shocked and betrayed” that “a judge actually believed this” and “allowed it”, forcing her to question the court’s ability to keep her safe.

Henderson is facing 15 charges including one count of stalking.

The court was told the accused and the victim had been in a relationship for about a year that ended in September 2023, with an intervention order granted later that month.

On October 4, 2023 she received a message from an Instagram account “Landscaping and Design” from a person, who the court learned was Henderson, calling himself “Matty”, claiming he was a landscaper from Aireys Inlet and a friend of the accused.

Henderson remains in custody.

Henderson was arrested later that day on stalking and persistently contravening orders.

He was placed into custody and “the communication with Matty ceased following the arrest”.

Henderson was released from prison on April 25.

The following day, the victim was again contacted by “Matty” claiming he had been “up in the Top End.”

On April 28, the victim received a text message and two calls from an unknown number.

Court documents revealed she was “immediately terrified” because she “knew it was the accused”.

Police would later track the number back to Henderson.

He then contacted the woman’s boss through the Instagram account and started following all his accounts, the court was told.

On May 3, police searched a bedroom in the home of Henderson’s mother, where he was living, and found a number of items.

They included two Apple iPhones, a MacBook laptop, a CCTV camera, a silver box with memory cards, keys, an Apple watch series 3, an Optus Wi-Fi card and SIM card, and an iPad.

He was arrested in May and will appear in court again next month.

Police will allege his mobile phone revealed the Instagram app to be installed and linked to usernames alleged to be involved in the crimes “with the alleged chat clearly visible and accessible”.

“The ongoing effect of the relentless behaviour by the accused on the complainants life and associates has caused significant trauma, making the complainant feel terrified, unsafe and sick.”

Sarah said she has lived a frightened existence “even when he is custody”.

“Every day I am in fear for my life,” she said.

Henderson has pleaded guilty to all charges.

Magistrate Peter Mellas adjourned the matter until August 26, saying he needed more time to analyse materials he was yet to receive from police.

He noted the accused had a proclivity to change identities and create “a whole other persona” and was “prepared to go to a court, on the face of it, and lie.”

“The prosecution needs to get organised,” he said.

Originally published as Court told how serial stalker Gerard Henderson lied to magistrate, went after victim