Susan Okoya, 44, (pictured in August) was jailed for 10 weeks and given a 10-year restraining order in May 2011 after the ex-England star said she left him fearing for his family’s safety by turning up at his home and demanding to speak to him
A former model is facing jail after she was found guilty of breaching a restraining order that banned her from directly or indirectly contacting former footballer Rio Ferdinand.
Susan Okoya, 44, was jailed for 10 weeks and given a 10-year restraining order in May 2011 after the ex-England star said she left him fearing for his family’s safety by turning up at his home and demanding to speak to him.
However she breached that order after she signed up with Ferdinand’s personal trainer and sent texts to him about the ex Manchester United defender.
In a statement read to court today Ferdinand, 39, said: ‘I have no relation to Susan whatsoever. All I know is that we were both brought up in Peckham.
‘I find it disturbing as I do not want anything to do with this female and I just want to get on with my life and not have to look day-to-day over my shoulder in case she is there.’
Okoya’s trial proceeded in her absence today as she did not appear in court.
Camberwell Green Magistrates’ Court heard Okoya booked the personal training sessions with Teddington-based ex-rugby pro Mel Deane who publicised his work online with the former England international.
After the first workout on May 2, Mr Deane sent Okoya a text message to ask whether she was on for the next session.
She replied saying: ‘I think you are going to have to ask Rio to pay for the sessions.’
Another said: ‘LOL he will pay it because he wants me looking good for him.’
The former footballer pictured this week with his girlfriend, former TOWIE actress Kate Wright
Giving evidence today Mr Deane said Okoya booked sessions under the name of Susanna Ibru.
He told the court: ‘I sent a message after the first session saying ‘how are you feeling, are you alright for Thursday’ – just checking in with a new client.
‘She said: “I’m looking forward to Thursday Mel but I think you have to tell Rio to pay for the session”…much to my amusement.
‘As you can see from my reply, I said: ‘why would he pay for your session?’ It came totally out of the blue.
‘I thought maybe she fancied him or something. Because she was a new client I thought she was trying to be funny and I didn’t quite get her yet.’
Okoya then sent another message saying: ‘LOL he will pay it because he wants me looking good for him’.
She then wrote at the end of the message: ‘By the way, how is Rio?’
Okoya was arrested by PC Sarah Stanley on June 13 for breaching the restraining order
Mr Deane said: ‘In the second session she spoke about meeting Joseph Simmons, who created Run-DMC, because he had seen her plight in the press and how she was slandered, and how he was going to help her write a book.
‘I made enquiries with Jake Mallo, who is Rio’s media manager, neither of them knew the name.’
Aimee Emby, prosecuting, asked Mr Deane: ‘Is it well known or advertised by you that Rio Ferdinand is a client?’
Mr Deane replied: ‘Pretty much, I would say he’s like a show pony.’
He continued: ‘Rio is a special case, he’s my highest profile client so [I reported it to his manager] just to be sure. On the safe side and all that.
‘After I was told not to [contact her] I put her on the long finger – I said I’m very busy and I have no spaces. Because this was all ongoing with the CPS I didn’t know if they wanted me to.’
Lyndon Orrett, defending, said: ‘Did you think she was being jokey with you?’
Mr Deane replied: ‘I thought she was being jokey yes. Because I didn’t know of the background with Rio.’
‘I spoke to him – I trained him the next day. I spoke to Jake Mallo the next day. I said in passing [to Ferdinand] some girl wants you to pay for her sessions and he looked like ‘what’s that about’.
‘Then I reported it to Jake Mello and he said ‘well, what’s her name’, and he was more interested in the details of it. When I said Ibru he didn’t recognise the name.’
Okoya was arrested by PC Sarah Stanley on June 13 for breaching the restraining order.
She told the court Okoya claimed she was seeing Ferdinand the next day while being taken to Bournemouth police station.
PC Stanley said: ‘At 10.35 she made a comment saying ‘I’m supposed to be meeting with Ferdinand tomorrow, he’s going to find this hilarious’.
In her police interview, Okoya said she was ‘curious’ to see if Mr Deane was Ferdinand’s personal trainer.
Ms Emby said: ‘She admits sending the messages and the phone number being used as her own.
‘She said the contact didn’t breach the restraining order and that it did not amount to indirect contact.’
Mr Orrett said: ‘If you look at the matter of the alleged indirect contact there were two text messages. During which the person on the other end of it take it jokingly.
‘You can see that they weren’t carefully constructed text messages, we have the ‘lol’ in the second message which is a common indication of levity.
‘In my submission it would be difficult to say that the defendant intended for the third party to communicate with Mr Ferdinand.’
Okoya, from Bournemouth, denied breaching the restraining order.
Ferdinand pictured this month with his personal trainer, ex rugby player Mel Deane
However District Judge Karen Hammond ruled text messages to Ferdinand’s personal trainer did amount to indirect contact and said Okoya did not have a reasonable excuse for doing so.
She said: ‘In my view ‘tell Rio’ is a specific request to Mel Deane who is a third party to communicate with Rio Ferdinand, who is the object of a restraining order. It’s an instruction to a third party to communicate with the object of a retraining order, which is Rio Ferdinand, and it’s a breach on that basis.
‘Mr Orrett on behalf of Miss Okoya said that there’s a reasonable excuse as the texts are clearly meant as a joke and Mr Deane took them as a joke.
‘His defence case is that that would be her intention – that they should be perceived as a joke.
‘I reject those arguments. One must view any joke in the context. The context here is a 10 year restraining order. Mr Deane thought they were jokes at the time but in ignorance of the background which he was only made aware of later.
‘The mischief at which this restraining order was aimed and was necessary to issue for was to protect Mr Ferdinand from communication directly or indirect by a third party.
‘He found the request that he should pay for these personal training sessions and that Miss Okoya to look good for him to be ‘disturbing’.
‘He goes on to say this: ‘I do not want anything to do with this female and I want her away from my life so I can focus on my career and my family life so I do not have to look day-to-day over my shoulder to see if she is there’.
‘It’s quite obvious from this statement and I have no doubt Rio Ferdinand did not find this funny.
‘Given the history and circumstances of this case I do not accept that its more likely than not that she had an honest but mistaken belief that these texts were a joke.
‘A restraining order can’t particularise every incident of indirect contact, but I’m satisfied so that I’m sure there was indirect contact. I’m satisfied that on the balance of probabilities there was no reasonable excuse for that contact, and the verdict is one of guilty.’
Okoya will be sentenced on a date to be set.
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