A Melbourne woman who was sentenced over a catfishing scam could be facing more time behind bars.
WATCH: Lincoln Lewis opens up about being a loving uncle
According to 7 News, Lydia Abdelmalek is accused of luring an unsuspecting victim by pretending to be Home and Away actor Lincoln Lewis.
She lurked online and conned two women into believing she was Lewis for years.
Abdelmalek went as far as sending explicit images of the woman and vulgar messages to her father, mother, sister and brother-in-law.
One of her victims took her own life last year after realising she’d fallen in love with a stranger.
In 2016 the victim penned a statement outlining the trauma of being duped into believing the TV star was in love with her.
In June 2019, Abdelmalek was sentenced to two years and eight months’ jail for six counts of stalking, with a minimum term of one year and nine months.
She thought she’d try her luck at reducing her jail time by issuing a conviction appeal, however, a judge thought she might deserve more.
On Friday while discussing her appeal, prosecutors said her laptop still needed to be analysed.
“There may be additional evidence which may elevate the seriousness of the stalking and reveal if there are potentially others targeted,” Prosecutor Stephanie Joosten said.
While reviewing her appeal the judge questioned why Abdelmalek’s case had been dealt with in the Magistrate’s Court.
He is now considering restarting the case in the County Court which means she could end up going to trial or facing a harsher sentence.
Abdelmalek remains on bail but she’s ordered to stay off social media.
The case has had an impact on the former Home and Away star with him recently opening up about the importance of mental health in a new online post.
The 32-year-old penned a new blog post for the 2020 Mentality Project where he opened up about his personal mental health struggles.
The blog reads: “I’m a naturally bubbly and energetic person who has always loved everything about life, being around people, being outside, running around etc.
“So whenever I have my quiet or bad days they can be easily picked up by those who know me.
“That was the main trouble when my once bad days had become an everyday thing – because I’d chosen not to confront what was weighing me down mentally, which then trickled into my emotional state and then finally, my physical state.”
Earlier last year the actor discussed his struggle with mental health after the devastating, high-profile cat-fishing case.
“For the first time in my life, I was saying to those closest to me that I felt like I was going through depression. Or to put it another way, I felt broken”, Lincoln told Men’s Health at the time.
If you, or someone you love needs support and information about suicide prevention, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.
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