Man found guilty of stalking his ex with fake Tinder profile

A man who faked his ex-girlfriend’s Tinder profile to entice multiple men to her address to rape her has been found guilty.

Asad Hussain, also known as Ash Hussain, from Hankinson Avenue, Heald Green, Cheadle, has been found guilty of Stalking involving Serious Alarm or Distress, Assault by Beating, and Failure to Comply with a Section 49 RIPA Notice. This follows a nine-day trial at Chester Crown Court which began on 20th April.

The court heard that in April 2024, the victim went on several dates with the 36-year-old after he contacted her on social media, operating under the alias ‘Mick Renney’.

As the relationship developed, Hussain became increasingly controlling resulting in him going to her house because she had a male friend round and repeatedly ring her doorbell for two hours, only leaving after police were called by a neighbour.

The relationship came to an end when on Monday 6 May 2024, the woman awoke to find Hussain had taken her mobile phone and read through her messages to male colleagues and friends. Hussain then bombarded the victim with questions, demanding to know if she was seeing other men.

He later gave the phone back to her, but when she tried to go to the bathroom. Hussain objected, saying she couldn’t have her phone without him being present. She tried to go anyway, but Hussain forced his way in and pushed her causing her to fall and he took her phone.

This was the last time she ever saw the man calling himself ‘Mick Renney’ and she would remain unaware of his real identity.

Hussain subsequently contacted her daughter and friends, accusing her of cheating on him, before making numerous attempts to rekindle their relationship which she refused.

Then in late-July 2024, multiple men began attending her home address saying they’d matched with her on the dating app Tinder and she had invited them round.

On one night in August 2024, four men attended her address one after another, all reporting having received almost identical messages.

Other men who turned up at her home told her that her messages said she wanted to engage in a ‘rape fantasy’ and that she wanted to be ‘roughed up’. They’d also explained they were led to believe that if she said ‘no’ it meant she ‘wanted it more’.

Then in September 2024 she went to answer her door after the doorbell rang. As she approached, a man shoved the door causing a glass panel to smash. When she explained her situation, he showed her messages from the fake Tinder account telling him that the front door was open for him and that he should give the door a ‘shove’ as it was ‘stiff’.

Later that day, she had gone to work when another man attended and managed to enter her house while her teenage daughter was upstairs alone. He remained inside the address for several minutes before leaving, without incident.

Following these incidents, many of the men provided her with their details because they wanted to help with any police investigation. In their statements to police all of them described incredibly similar events where upon matching with who they believed to be her on Tinder, they were quickly invited round to her address and given her phone number.

When they arrived, they were asked questions regarding what cars were parked outside. They were then told that she was waiting in her conservatory for them and instructed to enter her address.
At least 18 men are believed to have been deceived into attending her address. The true number however remains unknown.

When the victim contacted police response officers from Northwich Local Policing Unit began an investigation but couldn’t identify a ‘Mick Renney’ on any systems. When they reviewed the victim’s video doorbell, they quickly identified that the car ‘Renney’ drove was registered to Asad Hussain and insured to his business.

They were now able to check other systems and established that the ‘Mick Renney’ in the doorbell footage was in fact Asad Hussain.

The case was then passed to the Harm Reduction Unit, Cheshire Police’s specialist Stalking investigation and risk management team.

It was soon found that Hussain had made significant efforts to conceal his real identity and avoid detection. Hussain changed the registration of his car and used completely separate dedicated mobile phones for his ‘Mick Renney’ alter-ego and the fake Tinder account.

Having learnt of police interest in him, Hussain discarded these mobile phones, and factory reset his personal devices. Hussain even went as far to attempt to have his details removed from the Companies House listing for his business.

Hussain was arrested on 6th October 2024 after officers from Cumbria Police sighted his van on the M6.
In interview Hussain denied being ‘Mick Renney’ and repeatedly denied knowing the victim or having ever been to her address. He denied any knowledge of the fake Tinder accounts, or using any form of social media or dating app.

He claimed that his car in the victim’s video doorbell footage, a V10-engined Audi R8 sportscar, was part of a classic car rental service his plumbing and gas business was trialling. However, he was unable to suggest anyone who had leased it and when challenged said his business didn’t retain records of lease agreements.

Hussain said that on 6 May 2024, when he’d assaulted the victim, he’d been working at a supermarket but refused to give any details of where this was or name anyone who could corroborate his account.

Officers were able to disprove Hussain’s account using a wide range of evidence including CCTV, ANPR and telecommunications data, discovering Hussain had created multiple fake Tinder accounts pretending to be the victim.

Officers were able to show that every time the Tinder accounts were active, Hussain had travelled from Cheadle to the Northwich area, staying at an industrial unit he rented or parked in a layby on the A556 two miles from the victim’s home while operating the fake Tinder accounts for hours at a time.

Hussain even went as far as contacting the woman pretending to be a man who’d matched with one of the fake Tinder accounts he’d created. In messages sent to her, he claimed to have attended her home address more than once and quizzed her on whether police had identified him and what officers had told her.
In March 2025, Hussain was charged with stalking involving serious alarm or distress and assault by beating.

Following charge Hussain continued to deny any involvement in the offences or having ever met the victim.
Following his arrest, two devices – a mobile phone and an iPad – were seized from his van. Hussain told officers that neither would hold any data relating to the victim or the offences, but repeatedly refused to provide any passcodes for them, preventing officers’ access.

In June 2025, officers obtained a notice under Section 49 Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000, legally requiring Hussain to disclose passcodes for these devices. Failure to comply with such a notice is a criminal offence punishable by up to two years in prison, or 5 years in cases involving child abuse or terrorism.

After being served with the S.49 RIPA notice, Hussain provided his mobile phone password but said the iPad belonged to a client, but he didn’t know who he was and that he’d been transporting this to Scotland on behalf of a colleague when he was arrested didn’t know the passcode. Enquiries however quickly established that he was lying, and the device was linked to his personal phone number and business email address. He had even been connected to the internet at a family member’s address on the morning of his arrest.

Hussain was therefore further charged in September 2025 with failing to comply with a Section 49 notice to disclose the key to protected information contrary to Section 53 Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000. (RIPA)

Despite the overwhelming evidence against him, Hussain continued to deny the offences.

Following the conviction, investigating officer PC Keith Terrill said:

“This is one of the most disturbing stalking cases Cheshire Constabulary has ever investigated. Hussain is an extremely deceitful individual whose only objective was to cause maximum harm to the victim and her children, even going as far as to incite others to break into her home and sexually assault her.

“At no point has Hussain taken any responsibility for his actions or recognised the sheer horror he came close to unleashing. He repeatedly claimed he’d never met the victim and insisted he and ‘Mick Renney’ were two different people. The evidence however has shown this to be a complete lie.

“He went to great lengths to prevent the victim discovering his real identity, frustrate the investigation, and avoid being caught. He evidently believed he could outsmart police, and that we’d be unable to disprove his fabrications; he was sorely mistaken on both counts.

“These events have understandably left the victim and her children incredibly shaken and distressed. The strength and bravery shown by them throughout has been incredible. Thanks to this and the incredible support from her daughters, friends and other witnesses, Hussain has been held to account for his actions.

“For any victims who are in a similar situation and may be unsure of whether to call police, my plea is please do call us; we will listen to you, and we will take what you tell us very seriously.”

The Harm Reduction Unit is a specialist risk management service delivered by Cheshire Constabulary in conjunction with Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust, Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and the Probation Service.

The unit also includes a dedicated investigation team taking primacy for the most serious and complex stalking investigations, with stalking advocacy caseworkers who provide practical support, safety planning and advocacy to victims of stalking throughout the Criminal Justice Process.

Pictured - Asad Hussain, also known as Ash Hussain, from Hankinson Avenue, Heald Green in Cheadle.