In February 2022, Garfield – brought to trial under his previous name, Riagain Grainger – was jailed for two-and-a-half years after pleading guilty to a charge of stalking involving serious alarm and distress.
The court heard he had stalked and bombarded a 21-year-old woman with messages in 2019 after meeting when the pair studied together in Manchester.
Jodie had to then wait for her case to be heard, and in February of this year she was in court to see the 25-year-old jailed for 19 months, with a further 19 months on supervised licence on his release from prison.
Jodie said the harassment was distressing, but it was the police process that made her ordeal worse.
Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson said it was a “complex investigation” and officers had “acted in good faith, and on the information available to them at the time”.
“It became clear that Garfield had intended to portray himself as a victim to make the real victim in this case look like an offender.”
He said officers have acknowledged the “shortcomings” in how Jodie’s case was handled.
“Throughout this case investigators worked with a number of police services across the UK in order to locate Garfield and bring him to justice before court,” he added.
Following a review, Jodie has agreed to work with the PSNI to improve their systems and practices.