A chilling case of online deception and real-world danger has ended in a conviction after a man used a fake dating profile to weaponise strangers against his former partner.
After a nine-day trial at Chester Crown Court, Asad Hussain, 36, was found guilty of stalking and is due to be sentenced in June.
A Breakup That Spiralled Into Control
The court heard how Hussain from Cheadle in Greater Manchester began contacting the woman in April 2024 under the alias “Mick Renney”. What started as a relationship soon turned possessive, with his behaviour described as “increasingly controlling”.
In one incident, he repeatedly rang her doorbell for two hours while a male friend was visiting, only backing off when police intervened. Their relationship collapsed the following month after he checked her phone and demanded answers about other men. Even after the split, he reached out to her friends and daughter with allegations of infidelity and tried, unsuccessfully, to reconnect.
Fake Profile, Real Danger
Within weeks of the breakup, Hussain allegedly created a fraudulent Tinder account in her name. Messages sent from it described violent “rape fantasies”, leading unsuspecting men to believe they had been invited to her home.
At least 18 men showed up at her address. On one night alone, four arrived with nearly identical messages. Some encounters escalated. One man forced part of the door, later claiming the messages told him to give it a “shove”. In another instance, a man entered the property while the woman was out, unaware her teenage daughter was upstairs.
PC Keith Terrill of Cheshire Police described what followed as an attempt to unleash “sheer horror”, according to a report by the BBC.
How “Mick Renney” Was Exposed
Investigators initially struggled to trace “Mick Renney”, but eventually linked the alias to Hussain through a vehicle registered to his business. Officers uncovered how he had altered his car registration and used multiple phones to sustain the fake identity.
Despite denying any connection to the victim or the account, police demonstrated that Hussain had repeatedly driven to a lay-by near her home whenever the profile was active.
Cheshire Police called the case “one of the most disturbing” it had handled.
PC Terrill said Hussain was an “extremely deceitful individual” whose sole intention was to harm his victim.
“At no point has Hussain taken any responsibility for his actions or recognised the sheer horror he came close to unleashing,” he said.
“He went to great lengths to prevent the victim discovering his real identity, frustrate the investigation, and avoid being caught.
“He evidently believed he could outsmart police, and that we’d be unable to disprove his fabrications.”
“He was sorely mistaken on both counts.”