Brighton midfielder Billy Gilmour told a court he had to take sleeping pills after being caused “serious alarm or distress” by a stalker who also targeted Chelsea’s Mason Mount and harassed Ben Chilwell.
Orla Melissa Sloan pleaded guilty at Westminster Magistrates’ Court to stalking Gilmour and Mount and harassing Chilwell.
The court was told on Wednesday that Sloan used 21 different phone numbers to bombard Mount, 24, with calls and messages after he met her at a party. The England midfielder became concerned she was obsessed with him after he ended a six-month relationship.
Mount feared that Sloan – who referred to herself as “Devil Baby” – would turn up at Chelsea’s Cobham training ground.
“Miss Sloane knows roughly where I live and where I train,” Mount said in a statement to court. “I’m worried as if she is unable to contact me she might turn up at my training centre.”
Gilmour, who left Chelsea for Brighton & Hove Albion in a £7.5m deal last September, revealed that Sloan’s stalking had a “huge impact” on his life and affected his performances.
The 21-year-old, once considered the next potential star to emerge from Chelsea’s acclaimed academy, has played only 17 times for Brighton this season, often coming on from the substitutes bench.
Gilmour had exchanged messages with Sloan, a TikTok influencer, before telling her he did not want to remain in contact. The stalking began nine days after he joined Brighton and continued until the end of October 2022.
“I have not been able to sleep and have had to take sleeping tablets,” Gilmour said.
“It’s had a negative effect on my performance and professional life.”
He added: “Being in a new town where I don’t have my friends or family, it’s really upsetting.”
After breaking off contact with her, Sloan claimed she had fallen pregnant, which the court heard was “completely fictitious”. Gilmour added: “I don’t know who I can trust anymore.”
As well as admitting to causing “serious alarm or distress” to Gilmour, Sloan admitted she had stalked Mount for a period of four-and-a-half months last year and that she had harassed Chilwell, 26, with messages last October.
Sloan was granted unconditional bail and is due to be sentenced on 20 June. District Judge Neeta Minhas told Sloan her most serious offence, against Gilmour, crossed the custody threshold.
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