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A student at one of Britain's top universities threatened to chop off her lecturer's penis after she was sent a cartoon called 'The Virgin Snail' in her reading list, a court heard.

Stephanie Christol, 30, believed Dr Christopher Dillon was trying to mock her with a cartoon because of her lack of sexual experience .

Christol met him in her final year at King's College London while she was writing her dissertation on films on the First World War, Hendon Magistrates' Court heard .

In a batch of reading material sent to the history student, a cartoon appeared at the bottom of an article called, 'The Virgin Snail'.

Furious at the perceived slight she emailed Dr Dillon, who worked at the university's Strand Campus, threatening to chop off his penis and stick it up his bottom.

(Image: CENTRAL NEWS)

She also sent a series of emails and Facebook messages calling Dr Dillon's partner 'a dog' and 'ugly as f **k'.

The court heard that Dr Dillion has written several books including 'Dachau and the SS: A Schooling in Violence' and had been helping Christol with her work.

"One message threatened me with violence. Between April to 25 September there were dozens of emails," he said.

"One of them threatened to cut of my penis and shove it up my bottom. They were threatening I was concerned they may spread over to my partner.

"Two of the messages said 'I am going to get you' and 'I am going to find a way to make you apologise'."

(Image: Harrow Observer)

Christol sent her letters on pink and blue writing paper with the lecturer's name on the envelope.

Ed Cohen, prosecuting, said: "Starting with the emails. They were extremely abusive in their nature- saying Doctor Dillon's partner was 'a dog' and 'ugly as f* * k'."

"This caused some real issues between him and his partner."

The lecturer went to the police in September 2016 and the force issued the student with a harassment warning.

But the bombardment continued and Christol sent five letters, and a framed picture to the lecturer's pigeon hole when he was in Munich on research leave.

The picture showed a gagged woman with the caption: "Ask the children of the UK who are grown up if contact denial was in their best interest?"

Dr Dillon did not open the letters but had a friend check what they were about.

Many of the letters told of Christol's feelings about her traumatic upbringing and a sense of alienation from her parents.

Christol told the court: "They sent me articles and one of them I reacted badly to. It was at the end of a stage of articles which had been sent.

"I was first angry because I thought he was laughing at me for being sexually inexperienced. I was paranoid about it and I was trying to deal with my paranoia.

"The letters were an explanation of my traumatic parental background. I write a lot to my relatives.

"I want to be a screen writer. I would like those letters which the prosecution has back, so I can send them to my relatives.

"I wanted to use that letter for writing a book and I want that letter back."

Christol of Islington, London denied but was convicted on one count of harassment without violence.

She gasped loudly when magistrates announced their verdict.

Christol was granted conditional bail ahead of sentencing at Westminster Magistrates' Court on April 11.