A man has been jailed for nine weeks for allegedly stalking after planting a covert Apple AirTag tracker on his ex-girlfriend’s car, media reports say.
According to DailyMail, Christopher Paul Trotman, 41, harassed his ex with constant phone calls and questions, before ordering an AirTag on Amazon and gluing it to her rear bumper to track her every move, a court heard.
The Apple device uses a Bluetooth signal so a linked-up iPhone can find its location.
Swansea Crown Court heard how Trotman of Gwynedd Avenue, Townhill, Swansea had been in a relationship with the victim for over 10 years before it broke down in August 2020, with the woman describing his ‘controlling’ behaviour during their time together.
Prosecutor Tom Scapens said Trotman would bombard the woman with questions about her whereabouts after their break-up and even offered her money to quit her pub job, because he could not cope with her talking to other men.
Apple notifications to the rescue
Then, in March this year, the victim bought a new iPhone and received a notification when she got in her car asking if she wanted to connect to an Apple AirTag.
At the time, she did not know what it meant and ignored it.
Later that month, she received a text from Trotman accusing her of sleeping with other men, the report said.
He also asked her if she had enjoyed a night out on Swansea’s Penderry Road that night, but she had no idea how he knew where she had been.
His former lover discovered what he had done after her daughter also started getting notifications on her phone about connecting to an AirTag.
A search of Trotman’s Amazon account showed he had bought several Apple tags the previous month and the victim decided to examine her car.
She found one of the tracking devices glued in a cavity under the rear bumper. The police were contacted and the AirTag was handed over.
(With inputs from IANS)
