BREAKING: ‘Alan Alanson’ sentenced to 9 months

Alan Colley, known to Hampstead hoax followers as “Alan Alanson”, was sentenced to nine months in prison at Newcastle Crown Court earlier today. Colley/Alanson also received a Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO), which will remain in place until a further order supersedes it.

Colley had originally faced charges of Harassment 4, “harassment putting people in fear of violence”, but at his 9 May hearing he pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of malicious communication—”sending an electronic communication with intent to cause distress or anxiety”.

As “Alan Alanson”, Colley posted a slew of malicious and threatening posts on Facebook, many directed at the parents in the Hampstead case. His posts were notable, as well, for their anti-Semitic bent. Colley also posted as “Alan Boyes”, but that account appeared to be for the benefit of his non-conspiranoid friends and family members.

While Colley could seem almost amiable at times, striking up near-civil conversations in the comments section of this blog, he showed his true colours in the days immediately following his November 2016 arrest:

Maybe it’s just us, but it seems just a bit unwise to give a “no comment” interview to the plod, then be led away effing and blinding, only to blurt out the nature and details of one’s offence in a crowded (and well-CCTV’d) custody suite.

Despite his many claims that he was a devout Christian, Colley was fond of making threatening allusions to shooting people in the head, as in this November 2017 post:

Hoaxtead Research’s interest in the case

Colley’s case was of particular interest to us, as EC had been scheduled as a witness at his trial, having provided police with some small pieces of evidence in the lead-up to his arrest.

So we were surprised in February this year when he posted in the comments section that he had not been charged:

Just thought I’d pop by and say hello sports fans… Out of ten, ‘how much does it piss you off that I have not been charged’?

Was this wishful thinking on Colley’s part? Or an attempt to goad EC into contradicting him? Hard to say. However, he followed up with two more before calling it a night:

Oh you do mind/remember me Kazza, you should?

and

Why do you feel/think you need to censor my posts… are you yellow ? are you frightened of what I might say… Karen Irving, do you deny being El Coyote? be careful before you answer… Because there are folk busying to link you to such a handle… Will check in later to see if you have gained some fortitude.

Colley had apparently not been keeping up, as EC’s identity had been well known for at least a year by this time. However, it again seemed unwise of him to attempt to contact a person who he must have known was a witness in his case.

As “Alan Alanson”, Colley had forged online relationships with Hampstead hoax pushers such as Angela Power-Disney, Jake Clarke, Kristie Sue Costa, and others.

His sentence comes in the wake of a slew of stern sentences related to child sex abuse hoaxes, and may reflect a growing understanding of the damage which can be done by false allegations of sexual abuse, especially when they are amplified online.