A young Albion star has told how being harassed by a social media influencer has affected his personal and professional life as his stalker was spared jail.
Billy Gilmour said being stalked by Orla Melissa Sloan, 22, had been “really upsetting” and he had struggled to sleep since being hounded by her.
Sloan, who goes by the handle “Devil Baby” on Instagram, bombarded Gilmour and other Chelsea footballers for several months.
In a victim impact statement read in court yesterday, the 22-year-old midfielder told how Sloan’s behaviour particularly affected him after he moved to Albion in September 2022.
He said: “I have not been able to sleep and have had to take sleeping tablets.
“It’s had a negative effect on my performance and professional life.
“Being in a new town where I don’t have my friends or family, it’s really upsetting.
“I don’t know who I can trust any more. Some of the information would only have been known by people close to me.”
Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard how Sloan, from Exeter, messaged the player saying she thought they should be in a relationship.
She later texted Gilmour saying “I will hunt you down” and even went as far as contacting his friends and family.
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She messaged his aunt to tell her the footballer “is a bad, bad boy” and that “he slept with me and never, never spoke to me again".
Sloan also claimed to have fallen pregnant in allegations described at an earlier hearing as “completely fictitious”.
At an earlier hearing, the influencer pleaded guilty to stalking Gilmour and England midfielder Mason Mount and harassing his Chelsea teammate Ben Chilwell.
Chairwoman of the bench Alison Gowman said the influencer had engaged in “sustained and deliberate attempts to harass and stalk” the footballers but she was spared prison.
Her 12-week prison term was suspended for 18 months and she must complete 30 rehabilitation days plus 200 hours of unpaid work.
She must also pay Gilmour £500 and Mount and Chilwell £300 each plus £85 costs and a £154 victim surcharge.
She was banned from contacting the players for five years.
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