Hardy's activities were first reported in 2011 after he stole a woman's identity using Facebook, and proceeded to send sexually explicit messages as her. Samantha Boniface told the Northwich & Winsford Guardian in May of that year that a then 20-year-old Hardy took over her account and locked her out of it. In one exchange, Hardy messaged the father of one of Boniface's friends and solicited him. Eventually, he was sentenced to a suspended prison sentence, community service, and was ordered to pay a fine to Boniface.

This did nothing to discourage Hardy, who continued his various stalking and harassment campaigns for the next 10 years. When Cheshire police constable Kevin Anderson was assigned to a stalking case in 2019, he quickly learned that there were several victims connected to it and they all led to the same man. Despite all of the evidence gathered by Hardy's numerous victims, police never did anything beyond saying they would "look into it."

Anderson decided to take the strongest pieces of evidence, hence the nine victims in court, and focus on that. Hardy was arrested in February 2020 and initially denied any wrongdoing. In a recorded interview with a solicitor heard in the documentary, Hardy said he was very lonely and spent most of his time by himself in his flat.

"I just struggle with social media in general. Shouldn't be on it. I struggle to understand when enough's enough. I'm trying to get support," he told the solicitor.

It's important to note that Hardy was diagnosed with autism later in life. We also want to draw attention to something Kale said in the documentary. She was quick to point out that pleading guilty before a trial means you get a 25 percent reduction in your sentence. In October 2022, The Guardian reported that Hardy's nine-year sentence was reduced to eight years after three judges in the court of appeal felt nine was just too much. Tell that to Hardy's victims who are undoubtedly scarred for life.