Melbourne man Scott Thomas jailed for stalking AFL player Alex Rance Ricmond AFL player Alex Rance was stalked by a man, known as Scott Thomas, aka Scott Raymond, who had befriended him. A MELBOURNE man who stalked Richmond's Alex Rance and organised a "gay orgy" at the AFL player's family home because he could not cope with being rejected has been jailed for one year. Scott Thomas, 35, of Prahran, befriended the Richmond defender in 2011 after creating a fake profile on Facebook using photos of a UK-based male sports model, the Melbourne Magistrates Court heard on Friday. Thomas pleaded guilty to 26 charges including stalking Rance and harassing his sister Ally, both of whom were present in court on Friday. He also pleaded guilty to obtaining more than $50,000 by deception, after setting up a fake medical practice and selling human growth hormones while pretending to be a doctor. Magistrate Caitlin English jailed Thomas for one year and fined him $3000. Thomas, who now lives in NSW, is appealing his sentence and is seeking bail. Earlier, prosecutor Sergeant Belinda Cowley said Thomas gauged Rance's interest in auditioning for a role as a host of a sports-based reality television show on MTV, telling Rance he would put him in contact with his singer/songwriter friend who was producing the show. Sgt Cowley said Thomas began contacting Rance using the name Scott Raymond and the pair met to discuss the program. But the association soon soured, with Thomas sending Rance text messages that were "critical and scathing of him, highlighting his reluctance to spend more time with the accused," he told the court. She said Thomas then began hacking Rance's Facebook and email accounts, sending a message to his girlfriend that Rance was "living a lie and was in fact homosexual." He then told Rance that a "gay orgy" had been arranged at his family's home. Sgt Cowley said "suspicious persons" then began attending the home, with one man entering the house when only Rance's sister and grandmother were present. She said Thomas also sent a message to members of the Richmond Football Club, questioning Rance's integrity. Thomas' lawyer Malcolm Thomas said the prosecution had presented a "lopsided" and misleading version of events. He said the men had an "intense friendship," with text messages running backwards and forwards between them constantly. He said the pair went to each other's homes, had dinner together, saw movies and went shopping together when Thomas began to develop feelings for Rance. "Mr Thomas developed perhaps a genesis of a romantic attachment to Mr Rance," he said. He can't cope with what he perceives to be the end of the two men's association. He is hurt by the way the association ended and the offending is a reaction to that hurt. Mr Thomas said his client suffered mental illness and should be sentenced to a community corrections order because jail would worsen his condition.