UK Chess Master Sentenced to Prison for Stalking and Blackmailing Woman Who Rejected Him

A 56-year-old married chess master in the UK has been imprisoned for 28 months after stalking and harassing a woman in her twenties who rejected his advances.

Paul Keevil initiated threats when the woman refused to maintain contact with him.

According to Metro, Keevil had previously engaged in sexual encounters with the young woman but resorted to blackmail tactics when she began a new relationship and became pregnant. He attempted to destroy her reputation and livelihood by publicly labeling her as a "sex worker."

Their acquaintance began on Seeking Arrangements in 2018. Following a brief relationship, Keevil continued sending her money and later began threatening her when she declined further interaction.

Prosecutor Tom Farr stated, "The two of them were in a brief relationship for a few months until she ended the relationship December 2018. From 2019 they remained in contact and from time to time the defendant gave her sums of money, which she sometimes requested – and on one occasion after the end of the relationship they engaged in consensual intimate sexual activity."

When the victim rejected Keevil's attempts to reestablish their relationship in 2021, he launched a five-month campaign of harassment, stalking, and defamation. He sent malicious messages to her family, university, and employer while falsely portraying her as a sex worker.

In one threatening message, Keevil told her: "The best thing you can do right now is say ok and that means sleeping with each other (willingly), it means flirting with each other and it means nice messages and emojis. And yes it means telling a few people we're together. If you do that, any threats will go."

His harassment escalated to the point where he impersonated the father of her child and contacted the hospital maternity ward. The victim reported feeling suicidal and feared for her safety.

"His behaviour is so obsessive. He genuinely believes that I am his girlfriend no matter how many times I say 'No'," she stated.

"He is that obsessive I believe that he will either rape me or kill me and this is making me sick and exhausted. I have a baby and I am scared for his safety. I am also scared that if Paul sees me in public with the child he will snatch my baby to get me to speak to him," the victim added.

The woman's partner ultimately left her due to Keevil's relentless actions, leaving her living in constant fear.

At Bolton Crown Court, Keevil pleaded guilty to stalking and sexual assault. Besides his prison sentence, he must register as a sex offender for 10 years.

Judge Mr Recorder Jeremy Lasker told Keevil, "You subjected the complainant to a sustained course of conduct which was aimed at pressuring her into resurrecting an intimate relationship with you and to demand repayment of monies which you had previously gifted to her."

"You consistently refused to take no for an answer – you were effectively blackmailing her. She has found herself almost unable to cope with life and has been driven to consider suicide as the only way out of a set of circumstances which you have imposed upon her by your obsessive and unrelenting behaviour towards her. She has described that her life has become a nightmare from which even now she can see little escape."