THIS is the chilling moment a stalker armed with condoms hammered at a colleague’s door after threatening to rape her when she rejected him.
Karl Chads launched a twisted campaign against Grace Smith despite the pair meeting just three times.
The 42-year-old bombarded her with abusive messages and broke into her London home.
He also told her boyfriend Daryl: “I’m a gangster, I’ll rape her in front of you and blow your head off.”
Eerie footage shows Chads showing up at Grace’s home in the dead of night and smashing his fist against the front door.
The stalker, who had seven condoms stuffed in his trousers, eventually broke in through a bathroom window and stole her teenage journal.
Bid writer Grace has now spoken out after Chads was jailed for 13 years for stalking with fear of violence.
The judge branded him “dangerous” as he was also sentenced for burglary, criminal damage and trespassing with the intent to commit a relevant sexual offence.
Grace, 31, said: “During Karl’s campaign of harassment I felt unsafe and feared for my life. Terrified he’d kidnap and rape me.
“Knowing he’s now behind bars gives me some comfort. Thankfully he’s finally off the streets, unable to harm anyone else.”
The pair first met in October 2022 when Chads joined her workplace but only occasionally spoke on Microsoft Teams meetings.
Grace thought he was a “bit of an oddball” and even joked to a pal he was “probably a serial killer” due to his strange demeanour.
In May 2023, the co-workers attended a meeting in Birmingham and later made small talk on the train back to London.
The pair next met again two months later at a team building team, where Grace noticed Chads staring at her.
But they did not come face-to-face again until October last year when their team were awarded afternoon tea at The Ritz.
Grace said: “While there, the topic of dating apps came up.
“I explained to colleagues that’s was how I met my boyfriend, Daryl.
“I noticed Karl’s face drop. He seemed disappointed.”
Grace later handed her colleague her phone number, only for Chads to reveal he had feelings for her.
She said she told him she was flattered but in a relationship, which led to a “barrage of insults” from Chads.
The spurned stalker branded her a “below-stairs type” and accused Grace of leading him on.
Chads then ramped up his abuse campaign and even posted a private chat between the pair on a shared work platform.
Grace flagged it to her manager but Chads continued to bombard her with calls and texts – leading the writer to call police.
She said: “They told me they could charge him with malicious communications if he failed to cease contact. And that was that.”
During a trip to Prague to attend her cousin’s wedding, Chads made a defamatory post on LinkedIn trying to sabotage her job.
Terrified, Grace’s boyfriend moved in and the couple reported all of Chads’ messages to the police but no action was taken.
Obsessed Chads eventually resigned from the workplace but continued to harass Grace – even sending her a parcel at her home containing a Alexander McQueen purse and a creepy note.
This read: “I thought we had the potential to develop into a friendship and relationship one day.”
Aware that Chads now had her address, Grace and boyfriend Daryl practised jiu jitsu moves to learn how to defend themselves.
They also installed a doorbell camera, which captured the stalker prowling around outside before breaking in.
Grace said: “I arrived home to smashed up pipes, broken windows. My clothes were ripped up and strewn across the garden.”
Chads was arrested at the scene with two glasses and a bottle of wine in his backpack and the condoms in his pocket.
As well as a jail sentence, he was also handed an indefinite restraining order banning contact with Grace.
She said: “At his sentencing, I faced him down, bravely read my impact statement and took back control.
“Now I want to encourage other survivors of stalking to collate evidence, keep records. Listen to your gut.
“In the end, I was forced to take charge and fight for justice. And I won.”
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