Harkins was first arrested and appeared in court in January 2020.
Despite his legal situation he continued his scams and found a new target.
We are calling her Naomi to protect her identity.
Naomi was seeing Harkins in 2020 while he was being investigated by police.
She alleges he stole £550 from her and later pressured her to withdraw £10,000 that he had transferred into her bank account.
She was unaware of the allegations against him.
“[I had] no idea”, she said.
“If I did I wouldn’t have been involved. It wouldn’t have happened.”
After spending a night with Harkins, Naomi said he sent her a still image from a video he’d taken of her while they were intimate, leaving her feeling “absolutely violated”.
In the year up to June 2024, almost £95m was lost to romance fraud in the UK with the average loss per person being £10,774, according to the national fraud intelligence bureau.
In July last year Harkins was sentenced to 12 years in prison and placed on the sex offenders register indefinitely.
Lisa, whose initial media interview sparked the police investigation that led to Harkins being jailed, said she felt vindicated for persevering.
She got her money back from Harkins months later, but most women did not.
Lisa said: “I was just so relieved for everybody that had stood up and told their story that there had been a positive outcome.
“I just think they’re incredibly brave and I’m so glad that they did do it. The result is exactly what should’ve happened years ago.
“I’ve felt for the last five years that I haven’t been able to move on. It’s a story I’m now proud to tell, rather than ashamed to tell.”
