Father admits stalking his daughter in Leicester Published duration 10 June 2019

image caption As well as a suspended prison sentence, the father was given a five-year restraining order at Leicester Crown Court

A father has admitted stalking his daughter after trying to force her into a marriage and keep her from university.

The 45-year-old from Northampton began following the victim, now 20, when she moved to Leicester in 2017.

Aged 15, she refused to marry an Albanian man and later had to apply for university places in secret.

At Leicester Crown Court, the father was given nine weeks in prison, suspended for 12 months.

He was also given a five-year restraining order.

The victim's family had tried to stop her from attending university but later agreed to her moving to Leicester to study if she followed conditions, Leicestershire Police said.

The student was dropped off on Mondays and collected on Fridays and a family friend lived with her and reported back to her parents.

'Pinned against railings'

The woman began receiving threatening messages from her family after she was seen with a man.

In November 2017, her father unsuccessfully tried to confront her at her student accommodation.

And last month, when she was walking towards university, her father grabbed her and pinned her against railings.

Members of the public intervened and he was arrested.

Det Con Steve Hobby said: "I hope that the fact her father has admitted his crime can be of some comfort to her.

"She can now go about her life - living it in freedom - without the fear of being confronted by her father.

"If she is contacted by him, she can make a further report to police."

The father pleaded guilty to one count of stalking involving serious alarm or distress.

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