Victims of Andrew Tate-loving stalker blast Devon school
Two members of staff subjected to a terrifying stalking campaign by a student have slammed the Devon school for a lack of support. The women, who worked at Petroc College in Tiverton, were traumatised by the bizarre and frightening behaviour of Ethan Fenwick.Fenwick, who was obsessed with Hitler and misogynist Andrew Tate, became sexually fixated on the two women. His disturbing obsession included secretly taking photos of them at school, relentless pestering, compiling files and producing deep fake sexual images and AI chat versions to talk to.He boasted online about wanting to pin one of the women against a wall to 'use her body’. He also wrote about kidnapping them to 'make them mine'.The defendant, aged 19, was sentenced at Exeter Crown Court on Tuesday after pleading guilty to two counts of stalking involving serious alarm or distress. The judge said he presented an ongoing risk and the best way to deal with it was to give him a community order.Fenwick's victims both raised concerns about his scary behaviour, which covered a period of 11 months. A safeguarding meeting was held and police called in.But one of victims, who read a statement in court, said she had been left to deal with the consequences alone. She did not feel adequately supported by the school after raising fears for her safety. She said the school 'failed to act' and told her there was 'nothing further they can do'.She added: "These events have changed every aspect of my life. In order to feel safe I've been forced to move home and work.""I was completely unsupported by my previous employer and left to deal with the consequences alone."His second victim said in a statement there were no words strong enough to fully describe how Fenwick 'tore away my sense of safety and peace'."One of the most disturbing things is that he had thousands of photos and videos," she said. "Knowing somebody was watching me left me completely exposed and stripped of any privacy."I feel like I'm constantly being watched. That kind of violation doesn't go away and changes how you see the world and the people in it."She says she no longer feels safe at work. "I wonder how much more dangerous this could have been and I might not have been here today. I truly believe he is a danger to society."The things he looked at like Andrew Tate and incels give no thought towards women. He is not someone who made a poor decision. I fear for people if he walks free because the next victim may not be so lucky and they might not survive."Hopefully this can help anybody else going through this nightmare. I no longer feel safe at home or work. College should be safe but I feel vulnerable. I question whether I can continue in a career I once loved."The court was told Fenwick has autism and 'struggles with nuance' due to his neurodiversity. It emerged that prior to the offences he was removed from another school and youth centre due to an unhealthy obsession with another teacher and youth worker.The first victim reported to police in July 2024 that Fenwick stopped her in a corridor and asked her to go to prom with him. She told Fenwick, then aged 17, that it wasn’t appropriate. Following the summer break Fenwick – now aged 18 - asked her on a date to which she again refused.A few weeks later, she spotted Fenwick secretly taking a photo of her, before he sent her a friend request on social media. The victim reported Fenwick’s behaviour to the college, and he was clearly warned not to make contact again.But he carried on pestering her. Details on his online biographies were alarming. In one he said that he had a 'crush' and wished to kidnap both victims.He would follow his second victim around the college, show her graphic and violent anime-style images. She described him as a 'massive fan' of Andrew Tate and made it very obvious it was not okay for him to share the misogynistic views of his hero. He would constantly sit next to her and make her feel she was being filmed.Police arrested him and seized devices. The found disturbing compilations of his targets which had lablelled with their names and titled 'Jerk off challenge' and 'Jerk off challenge 2.0'.Particularly chilling examples involved the head of one of the victims being placed next to porn stars having sex. He created AI versions of his victims with a chat facility enabling him to talk to their fake personas. Fenwick created these by using covertly captured audio and pictures which he uploaded to an AI website.Officers contacted the college’s safeguarding lead, who disclosed records showing Fenwick had made concerning comments regarding race and misogyny, as well as demonstrating a hatred for the LGBTQIA+ community.Zoe Kuyken, defending, said Fenwick's parents had no clue about disturbing behaviour before police arrested him. She said there were 'deficits in how this safeguarding was managed by the school'. She said the school was not to blame for his behaviour but getting Fenwick help is relevant to how his risk can be managed by his parents in future.Sentencing Fenwick, Recorder Laura Collier questioned why the college 'didn't see fit' to notify Fenwick's family about his disturbing behaviour after a safeguarding meeting.She said Fenwick would not deal well with prison because of his mental conditions. She said his risk would be better managed in the community and imposed a three-year community order with 25 rehabilitation days, 150 hours of unpaid work and a sexual harm prevention order for five years.A spokesperson from the ENDC Group, created after Petroc merged, said: "This case occurred before the formation of the Exeter and North Devon Colleges (ENDC) Group, and we cannot comment on individual cases relating to students or staff. Safeguarding is paramount to us, and the safety and well-being of our students and staff underpins everything we do."Officer in the case DC Andrew Stacey said: “This is an extremely troubling case involving the stalking of two victims, both physically and online.“Ethan Fenwick’s victims - who were simply trying to do their jobs - were left distressed and concerned by his behaviour which was designed to unsettle and ultimately terrify them.“We hope his victims can feel some closure and safeguarding from the sentencing and can now move forward with their lives.”Joanna Clark of the Crown Prosecution Service added: “Every woman and girl should be able to feel safe when going about their lives. The Crown Prosecution Service is determined to deliver justice for victims of stalking and I hope that today’s sentence provides some comfort to the two women in this case.”Anybody who has been the victim of any form of stalking and harassment is asked to report it to Devon and Cornwall Police via 101 or the force website, or by calling 999 if in immediate danger.⚠️ Want the latest Devon breaking news and top stories first? Click here to join our WhatsApp group. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice ⚠️
