‘Devil Baby’ influencer who stalked Chelsea players avoids prison

By Gwyn Wright, PA

A TikTok and Instagram influencer who bombarded Premier League footballer Mason Mount with messages following a one-night stand with him has avoided prison.

Orla Melissa Sloan, 22, who called herself Devil Baby on Instagram, used 21 phone numbers to stalk the Chelsea midfielder for four months between June 19th and October 28th last year.

She also stalked his former team-mate Billy Gilmour between September 10 and October 28th 2022 and harassed fellow Blues star Ben Chilwell between October 20th and 29th 2022.

Mount, 24, became worried that she would turn up at the club’s training ground in Cobham, Surrey, while the messages left Gilmour, 22, unable to sleep.

Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard Sloan slept with Mount after they met at a party at his England team-mate Chilwell’s home in November 2020.

Prosecutor Jason Seetal told an earlier hearing the pair remained in contact for around six months before Mount “decided that the relationship was not going to progress”.

He said: “Upon informing Miss Sloan of this, he has been subjected to a bombardment of messages.

“He began asking her to stop messaging him before blocking the number.

“He then began to receive messages from new numbers and each time he would block those numbers, there would be messages from a different number.”

The prosecutor said some messages included collages of photos of the player with other women.

The earlier hearing was told how in one message from an Instagram account using the Devil Baby name, she said: “I can morph at any time so let me apologise and set things right.”

Another showed an Apple account buying a new number for £12.99 with the words: “I’m not buying food anymore so I can get more numbers.

“I will be faster than you.”

Mount was “concerned she had an obsession or fixation with him and he didn’t know what she was capable of”, the earlier hearing was told.

He said in a victim impact statement: “Miss Sloan knows roughly where I live and where I train.

“I’m worried as if she is unable to contact me she might turn up at my training centre.”

The court heard other messages were aimed at professional footballers, friends and family members, including left-back Chilwell, 26.

He told how he found Sloan’s behaviour “erratic”, while Scotland midfielder Gilmour said her messages had a “huge impact” on his life, after he joined Brighton from Chelsea in September last year.

Gilmour said: “I have not been able to sleep and have had to take sleeping tablets.

“It’s had a negative effect on my performance and professional life.

“Being in a new town where I don’t have my friends or family, it’s really upsetting.”

The court heard Gilmour had initially exchanged messages with Sloan before telling her he did not want their contact to continue and did not have a relationship with her.

But she claimed to have fallen pregnant in allegations described in court as “completely fictitious”.

He added: “I don’t know who I can trust anymore.

“Some of the information would only have been known by people close to me.”

Sloan, from Exeter, appeared to show little visible emotion as she sat in the dock with a black top over a white dress and heavy make up.

In mitigation her lawyer Michael Cogan said she had been “naive” in not realising any relationship with Mount was not going to progress, adding that she is remorseful and has not contacted them since.

She was warned she faced jail after admitting stalking Mount and Gilmour and causing harassment to Chilwell, at a hearing last month.

However she was handed a 12-week prison sentence suspended for 18 months by a magistrates’ bench.

She must complete 30 rehabilitation days and 200 hours of unpaid work.

She must also pay Gilmour £500, Mount and Chilwell £300 each plus £85 costs and a £154 victim surcharge.