MONDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2004
NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
3A
ACQUAINTANCE: After the police intervened and told the stalker to stop, he denied everything
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had to change her cell phone number once.more.
What would really scare her, she said, was when she said she would see him walk by Naismith and her friends would see him ride by on his bike. Sometimes he would stop and stare at the building. Someone also taped a note to her door trying to convince her to date him, saying he was not a stalker and he was not a "psycho."
This woman's stalking situation is similar to other cases that Rose-Mocky has heard. Some are more extreme and threatening, she said.
But similar behaviors include repeated e-mails and phone calls, repeated following, threatening notes and persistence. Threats can be overt,'she said, when a stalker is always bothering someone. Or the threats can be physically threatening.
"It's persistence that makes people more concerned for their safety." Rose-Mockry said.
People stalk because they want power and control, she said. Rose-Mockry said it was a matter of not being able to take "no" for an answer. People who stalk have difficulty controlling their anger, she said, and sometimes have been victims of abuse earlier in life. But people who don't meet this profile do stalk as well, Rose-Mockry said.
The woman decided to get help and filed a report with Lawrence police on April 21, 2003, saying the stalker was harassing her with phone calls. She also said the stalker threw rocks at her boyfriend's house and reported it as vandalism.
That's when the police intervened, telling the stalker to stop. But he denied everything.
The woman wanted to get a restraining order, she said, but she didn't know how to get one. She filed a report with the police, but the district attorney's office did not prosecute him.
Police intervention
STALKING STATISTICS IN LAWRENCE
Police do intervene, especially at the request of the victim, he said. They speak to the stalker and tell that person not to have further contact with the individual.
"Some victims say they just want the individual to be talked in to hopes of stopping the stalking." he said.
These are the numbers of criminal reports of stalking according to the Lawrence Police Department All Statutes Incident Summary criminal reports.
The offenses that occur are usually misdemeanors, such as slashing car tires and leaving notes, Ward said. And in most misdemeanor instances, police can't arrest the stalker unless the offense was done in the police's
Year Number reported
2004 0
2003 12
2002 6
2001 5
2000 6
1999 2
Source: Lawrence Police
Source: Lawrence Police Department
presence.
"so unless we see them do it we can't arrest them on the spot." Ward said.
A lot of times police intervention does not stop the stalker from continuing to harass the individual, Pattrick said.
Ward said sometimes the district attorney's office prosecuted stalkers.
The district attorney's office, however, has not gathered statistics of how many cases the office has prosecuted, said District Attorney Christine Kenney.
In a case of stalking, documenting what the stalker has done is important. But police have to consider both sides of the case.
"It's very difficult when you have a two-sided argument," Pattrick said. "If one person says this person's doing it and the other person's denying it, it's very difficult to take one side over the other."
Ward said even if the victim knew who the stalker was, it could be hard for the police to prove it and could take a long time.
Law enforcement officials can get evidence by obtaining a search warrant or subpoena to look at telephone records that are electronically recorded. If a victim comes into contact with the stalker at a public place, police can contact businesses to find out if the victim and stalker were there. Information can be verified through interviews with people who have seen the stalker bothering the victim, Pattrick said. Letters and e-mails are another form of evidence.
Ward said any time a person thought he or she was a victim of stalking, that person should contact the police department right away. Most times, the situation would be minor, but contacting the police would ensure the individual's safety by stopping threatening behavior before it escalated, he said.
"You should take it serious
In this woman's situation, she had to prove her stalker was intentionally bothering her. The woman had recorded evidence of telephone calls, which would be considered an "electronic means" of stalking under the Kansas Statute No. 21-3438. The statute defines stalking and what constitutes a credible threat of stalking.
and you should report it and by no means try to deal with it on your own." Ward said.
According to the statute, a credible threat can be verbal or written even if it is communicated via electronic means, which includes telephones, cellular phones, computers and pagers.
Kenney said usually a person committed other crimes that were considered stalking. They included telephone harassment and going to the individual's house. An individual has to build a record of at least three series of acts over a period of time, she said.
The district attorney's office did not prosecute the woman's stalker, but he was reported for harassment and vandalism.
A stalking case has a severity level of 10, which she said was not a high-level felony. A person with the worst criminal history who is prosecuted and convicted as a stalker would have to serve 13 months. The minimum sentence, without criminal history, would be five months.
"Stalking is generally not the crime we convict these people of." Kenney said.
"A person is most likely not going to go to prison because of a low criminal history." Kenney said. "But it would get them into court records so that this person is known."
The University deals with crimes that happen on campus. Otherwise, Lawrence police take the cases. Captain Schuyler Bailey of the KU Public Safety Office said no cases of stalking had been reported since 2000.
Bailey said he had talked to a couple of students during the past few years regarding stalking. He said each situation regarding stalkers was unique.
"A lot of times they don't realize that what they're doing bothers a person," Bailey said. "The person needs to be told the behavior is bothering you or upsetting you."
Persistence
The stalker wrote them an e-mail on April 23, 2003, stating that the woman's boyfriend should "watch his back at all
The woman began dating someone after that February party. Eventually, he was threatened too, she said.
"It said that if I was smart I should stay away from [my boyfriend], and he asked me to call him because he was the 'love of my life' and I 'just didn't know it vet,'" she said.
times" and that the boyfriend was "going to be dealt with in due time."
Men are victims of stalkers as well. But they often are reluctant to get help until it becomes serious, said Rose-Mockry. Men think they can handle it, she said.
Having a stalker makes people wonder what will happen next. Rose-Mockry encourages students to be more aware of their surroundings and to let friends and neighbors know if they feel unsafe.
In this woman's situation, she turned to the police, her friends, brother and boyfriend. She also bought Mace and notified Naismith staff that she was being stalked.
Tawnya Metzler was her resident assistant that year. Naismith staff banned the stalker from the dorm, Metzler said. Metzler escorted the victim to her car when she needed it. She also notified the front desk that the woman would need an escort at all times.
"Not being alone every minute of every day for three months really starts to get to you because you just want some time alone," the woman said.
On May 1, 2003, she was at her boyfriend's house hanging out and watching a movie. Her boyfriend answered a knock at the door, and somebody they did not know asked for her.
He was a young man in his teens who wanted to sleep with the woman. Apparently, the stalker had stolen a picture of her, she said, went on to Lawrence and Kansas City chat rooms on the Internet and posed as her.
"He had gotten online and posted the picture pretending to be me in chat rooms, inviting guys over to [my boyfriend's] house looking for me to have sex." she said.
She later found out her picture had been posted when two young men called her phone number because the stalker gave it out on the Internet.
Not only did the situation embarrass the young men when they found out it was a mistake, it embarrassed her. She was afraid she would be walking on campus and guys would notice her and remember her as that girl on the Internet wanting to have sex.
Students who are being stalked can get individual counseling or group counseling, said Frank DeSalvo, assistant dean of students and director of
These kits are available at the Center for Campus Life at room 400 in the Kansas Union. The Emily Taylor Resource Center gives out up to 20 kites a year. They include:
A book on stalking and how to protect yourself called Stalking: A Handbook for Victims by Emily Spence Diehl.
STALKING RESOURCES KITS
A log for documenting the situation and any incidents to keep track of common incidents and a resource to report to the police.
Envelopes to save documents such as e-mails, messages on windshields and written notes.
A Call 911 card to put in the windshield that notifies police that the stalker is following the victim to that person's car.
A camera to take a picture of the situation or even the stalker.
Helping Crime Victims: A Guide to Victim Assistance Programs in Kansas from the Kansas
attorney general's office
A whistle
Brochures on stalking and stalking restraining orders from the Kansas Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault
Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS). Both are offered through CAPS.
Other places on campus and in Lawrence that provide stalking kit:
Student Legal Services
in Lawrence that provide stalking kits:
Registrar's office
"They think, 'Look how angry she is, I must be important,'" he said.
University Ombudsman
Victims should not even be polite or say hello. DeSalvo encourages victims to walk straight ahead and to ignore the stalker. If their stalker bothers them, they should yell out.
Students should avoid speaking or coming into contact with their stalkers as much as possible, DeSalvo said. Stalkers want to receive any sort of acknowledgement or behavior from the victim.
Office of Equal Opportunity
Student Legal Services Department of Student Housing
GaDuGi SafeCenter
KAIDU GI SAFETY OFFICE
KU Public Safety Office
KO Public Safety Office
Women's Transitional Care Services
Douglas Country District Attorney's Office
Pamela Botts, associate director and counselor at CAPS, speaks to a couple students each year about stalking. Stalking is rare, she said, but it does happen.
It ranges from continuing to call someone, showing up at class or that person's dorm. Botts said, or it could be extreme, such as damaging a vehicle or talking to the student's friends.
Watkins Memorial Health Center
Headquarters Counseling Center
Often students feel powerless, he said. But they can think of ways to gain control of their lives.
DeSalvo advises victims to avoid typical settings where they may run into their stalkers. Someone, such as a friend, should always escort a victim. If the stalker is in the victim's class, he said, students should notify faculty if it's a problem.
Source: Kathy Rose-Mockry, Emily Taylor Resource Center program director.
"A lot of women are reluctant to do that because they've been taught not to," DeSalvo said.
Moving on
The woman said having a stalker changed her life. She said she was more paranoid now than she was before. Being from a small town, she trusted people too much, she said. Now she has become wary. She wants others who were being stalked to know it is hard to get back to a normal life. But she advised that a person's own safety should be taken more seriously and that people should get help.
The woman's stalker is no longer at the University and stopped stalking her when classes ended in spring of 2003, she said.
Today, she said her friends teased her because she was still cautious about her safety.
"It's ridiculous to always have a feeling in the back of your mind that you're being watched when walking down the street, or having the fear of someone grabbing you at night," she said.
Although she had a tough experience with a stalker, she said she was no longer afraid. She feels just like any other college student, concentrating on school and friends, she said.
To this day, though, she carries Mace on her key chain.
"You never know who you'll meet," she said.
SALE: Habitat for Humanity, UNICEF participate
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1A
— Edited by Anna Clovis
A direct and long-term relationship between buyers and producers helps producers plan ahead, because they know their product will be purchased on a regular basis.
Financial and technical assistance for producers and environmentally safe production techniques are also included within
fair trade.
University of Kansas vendors include the KU Habitat for Humanity and KU UNICEF, the campus initiative for the United Nations children's fund.
Shannon Grabosch, Fort Scott junior, will also volunteer
"When these things come together, it has a ripple effect," Holcombe said. "You create a network through free trade."
During the holidays, it is easy to get too involved with the commercial aspects, she said, and this market is one way to get away from that.
at the market. Grabsch became involved in the market through KU Habitat for Humanity.
"There is a lot of alternative gifts and great prices," Grabosch said. "You can get something you need and help someone else
in the same process."
Shoppers who donate $1 will receive a gold nail with gold string that represents 10 nails for the future building. Shoppers who donate $20 will receive a silver nail with red ribbon, which represents 250 nails.
KU Habitat for Humanity will sell decorative nails that represent the amount of nails each donation will provide in building the first Hawk House.
This is the first Habitat home
KU students have funded and built.
Usually the KU group teams up with Lawrence Habitat for Humanity to build a house. The KU group needs to raise $50,000 to begin building.
More than $15,000 has already been raised through fundraisers and grants from local businesses. To donate to or join the KU Habitat for Humanity, visit www.kuhabitat.org or e-mail info@kuhabitat.org.
The KU UNICEF will sell holiday cards with international and multi-religious themes. All proceeds from the cards and fundraisers will go to help displaced children in Darfur, Sudan. The group's last fundraiser was an international dinner that brought in close to $1,600 and more than 120 people were in attendance.
To learn more about KU UNICEF and how to donate, go to www.ku.edu/~kuunicef.
Edited by Marissa Stephenson
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