Stalker stood in front of me and lifted his shirt....to show me a tattoo of my name on his chest
Beauty queen says sicko drove her to suicide bid but did she beat him?
When Verity's stalker walked calmly into their local pub, she ducked her head and took a wary sip from her drink.
As bold as brass, the man who had made Verity's life a misery then ambled over to her group of friends and slowly lifted up his shirt.
What the beauty queen saw emblazoned on his flabby torso stirred up a feeling of panic, the like of which she had never felt before — it was a tattoo of her name.
Verity, 20, says: “I spat my drink out in shock. I was horrified and filled with terror. The thought of him having my name on his chest made me feel physically sick and I went straight home.”
The encounter in March 2011 was the latest in a string of menacing exchanges with Jason Blank — the man who Verity, now 20, had struck up a conversation with a year earlier because she felt sorry for him.
Blank, who has multiple sclerosis, had been in the pub with only his crutches for company so Verity and her pals were happy to humour him when he shuffled towards them.
Jason Blank
But the “click-clack” of his crutches against the ground quickly became a terrifying soundtrack to Verity's life, kicking off a two-year ordeal that would eventually drive her to try to take her own life.
Jobless Blank, now 34, quickly became obsessed with Verity and was soon spending his days following her around her home town of Bristol, England.
As his obsession deepened, his stalking tactics became darker.
He sent sexually explicit messages to her on Facebook, showered her with Valentine’s and birthday cards, turned up to her beauty contests wearing T-shirts with her face on the front — and then the tattoo.
But Blank’s reign of terror was ended last month when he was convicted for harassment and sentenced to 18 weeks in prison.
Verity says: “Every time I heard the click-clack of crutches on the pavement, my palms went sweaty and I felt sick and panicky.
“I was so relieved when he was arrested. I couldn’t believe it might finally be over.
“He made my life hell and I’m only just starting to repair my confidence now.”
Verity first reported Blank to police in February 2011 and on numerous occasions afterwards. He was initially handed a six-month harassment order in May 2011 but his sick stalking continued.
She says: “He would harass me on a daily basis, enrolled in a church which is three doors away from my house, took photos of me in the street and sent me horrible, explicit, threatening messages on Facebook.
“One that has always stuck with me read, ‘Your tiara would look good on my bedroom floor’. I had nightmares for weeks after receiving that.”
In September 2011, after more than a year of harassment, Verity took an overdose of the antidepressants she had been prescribed to cope with the stress of the stalking.
Surviving her ordeal, she was forced to face further anguish when, in June this year, evil Blank launched a vile internet hate campaign against her.
It was the final straw for brave Verity. She called the police, they arrested Blank and he pleaded guilty to harassment last month at Bristol Magistrates’ Court. Verity, now an aspiring rapper who lives with music teacher mum Mary, 49, and jazz musician dad Ian, 52, admits she felt sorry for the man on crutches when they first met.
She says: “I first came across Jason Blank in August 2010.
“My friends and I had seen him in the pub before. He was on crutches and alone so I guess we felt a bit sorry for him and didn’t mind when he came to talk to us.”
But within days, Blank had requested to become Verity's friend on Facebook. She thought it was a bit strange, but accepted him anyway.
At the time, the pretty teen was preparing for the Miss Bristol beauty contest.
Verity says: “I only told a few friends I was entering because I didn’t think I’d have a chance but to my surprise I won and my friends and family were really pleased.
“But when Blank found out, he said he was upset I hadn’t invited him, which I thought was very odd.”
From then on, Blank attended all the Miss Bristol events Verity appeared at, taking pictures of her from the crowd.
She reveals: “Sometimes he’d say nothing and other times he’d tell me I looked pretty, but he always stood close and stared at me.
“In December 2010, my friends and I were having drinks in the pub and Blank turned up. He kept making inappropriate sexual comments about me.
Vile ... Facebook abuse
Jason Blank 12:45 pm.
Go fuck yourself. I hope your proud of all the trouble you have caused me. But no one knows who you are or cares. Even your Grandmother is appaulled at you, I mentioned you to her whehn wev met, at she looked at me as if I had just sworn. Face facts you are hated by many.
Jason Blank 12:48 pm
If I have hurt you I am sorry. I WANT THIS FIGHTING TO END. X =(.
“It made me feel so sick and I realised he had a worryingly strange obsession with me.”
Verity then began receiving graphic comments from him through Facebook.
One read: ‘Want something hard between my legs? Because I will give it to you.’
She says: “I didn’t tell Mum and Dad at first because I was embarrassed but I told the Miss Bristol organisers and the police in February 2011 and they said they would keep an eye on him.”
But vile Blank took his obsession to a new level by revealing a tattoo of Verity's name on his chest a month later — and from then on things only escalated.
After receiving greetings cards sent to her home and being followed by him in the street, Verity finally confided in her parents. She says: “He enrolled at the church three doors down from my home so he had an excuse to walk past. I became scared to leave the house.
“Mum and Dad couldn’t believe it when I told them. They supported me when I decided to confront him about his actions.”
Verity sent him a message on Facebook warning him if he didn’t stop, she would go to the police again.
But Blank simply ignored her plea and continued his aggressive stalking campaign.
It got to the stage where Verity couldn’t leave the house without suffering panic attacks. She constantly felt scared and upset. In May 2011 the family called the police.
Blank was arrested and given a six-month harassment order, but he still refused to stay away. In August 2011, Verity was prescribed antidepressants.
She says: “I was constantly in fear of him. I plucked up the courage to rap at a local show one evening (Barmageddon) and Blank had tried to book front row tickets but the host (Barron Mynd) who knew about him, rejected his payment.
“I felt safe knowing this but he showed up anyway wearing a T-shirt with my picture on the front. I broke down when I got home.”
Unable to handle the constant worry and panic, on September 27, 2011, Verity took an overdose and was hospitalised.
She says: “It just all got too much and I felt no other way to escape him. He had such a hold over my life that I felt helpless.
“I thought that if I wasn’t here then everything would be OK and it would all come to an end.
“My dad was heartbroken — devastated that he couldn’t protect me. I was kept in hospital overnight to check all my organs were OK, before returning home two days later.”
Despite Verity staying inside as much as possible to recover from her ordeal, Blank still found ways to torment her.
She says: “He’d walk past my house and hover outside so I knew he was waiting for me. When my friend Anthony, 18, tragically died in a road collision in March this year, Blank turned up to the funeral uninvited. I was horrified.”
Blank also set up two internet petitions against Verity, both entitled “Stop Verity of Bristol”. He used the groups to abuse her and accuse her of things she hadn’t done.
Verity says: “When I saw the pages he’d created, I couldn’t even speak.
“Even when I thought I was safe inside my home, he still managed to get at me and it was the final straw.”
Despite everything she had been through, battling Verity found the strength to call the police once again and this time, with written evidence saved on her computer, Blank was arrested in June and pleaded guilty to harassment.
Verity says: “It was the biggest relief of my life and when he was found guilty and sentenced to 18 weeks in prison I wanted to cry with happiness.
“Throughout the harassment I always questioned what I’d done to deserve it.
“But when the court heard the list of what he’d done and how deep his obsession went, there was no way he was going to get away a free man.
“If my story helps another victim to find the strength to jail her stalker then everything I’ve been through will be worth it.”
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