LONDON — An American banker was found guilty yesterday of harassing his colleague, despite her moving to London to escape him.
David Gray, who now faces losing his job at J.P. Morgan, was convicted of harassing his ex-lover Daniela Rausnitz after their one-year relationship ended, at a London court on Monday, the Daily Mail reported.
The stalking began when Rausnitz, 25, transferred to J.P. Morgan’s London office.
Gray, 28, began flying regularly across the Atlantic, sending hundreds of messages and concocting upsetting lies — including that his sister died, that he was critically ill and even that he was an Israeli secret agent — in a desperate bid to get his former lover’s attention.
The court was told that over one 16-hour period, the wealthy banker sent Duke University graduate Rausnitz 176 texts and 23 emails.
Rausnitz’s claims that Gray had placed a tracking device in her pocket book, and that he hacked her phone, were not proven, however.
On one occasion, Gray collapsed in front of Rausnitz at Heathrow Airport. Another time, he was arrested as he attempted to visit Rausnitz and her father at a London hotel after telling police he was an agent with the Israeli secret service and urgently needed to speak to Rausnitz.
Even the night before the trial, Gray was accused of visiting the same restaurant as Rausnitz.
Rausnitz said she was frightened by Gray’s erratic and obsessive behavior, adding, “His unwarranted, unprovoked and unrelenting actions have caused me extreme distress.”
Gray, who was married when he started his relationship with Rausnitz, admitted telling a series of lies and said he was a “broken man.”
He was sentenced to a conditional discharge at West London Magistrates’ Court and was told he would be arrested if he contacted Rausnitz by any means and then visited Britain.
With Newscore