A person in Ohio was sentenced to greater than three years in jail after 12 years of harassing the actress Eva LaRue and her daughter. He threatened through letters and telephone calls to torture, kill and rape them, the authorities stated.
Decide John A. Kronstadt of america District Courtroom for the Central District of California sentenced the person, James David Rogers, to 40 months in jail on Thursday, for what prosecutors in a sentencing memorandum known as a “marketing campaign of torment” by which he “terrorized a mom and her daughter.”
Mr. Rogers, 58, had pleaded responsible on April 28 to “two counts of mailing threatening communications, one depend of threats by interstate communications and two counts of stalking,” in line with america Lawyer’s Workplace for the Central District of California.
Ms. LaRue is thought for her roles because the DNA analyst Natalia Boa Vista on the crime sequence “CSI: Miami” and Maria Santos on the cleaning soap opera “All My Youngsters.” Her daughter, Kaya Callahan, was as younger as 5 years outdated when the threats in opposition to her started, courtroom paperwork stated. She is now 20. Mr. Rogers wrote threats to Ms. LaRue’s associate on the time as effectively.
An obvious lawyer for Mr. Rogers and a consultant for Ms. LaRue didn’t reply to requests for remark.
In March 2007, he started to ship menacing letters to the household, courtroom paperwork present, and stalking conduct continued till his arrest in November 2019. Between March 2007 and June 2015, Mr. Rogers mailed about 37 handwritten and typed letters with threats. He signed lots of the letters with the identify Freddy Krueger, a fictional serial killer from the horror film “A Nightmare on Elm Road.”
“I wish to make your life so depressing that you may’t stand it,” he wrote in a single letter, in line with courtroom paperwork. “Try to be very scared,” one other learn.
The household moved a number of instances within the hopes that Mr. Rogers wouldn’t discover their tackle once more, in line with courtroom paperwork. In addition they prevented receiving mail and packages at their dwelling tackle.
“They drove circuitous routes dwelling, slept with weapons close by and had discussions about the best way to search assist shortly if defendant discovered them and tried to hurt them,” prosecutors stated.
In October and November 2019, Mr. Rogers known as the varsity Ms. Callahan attended 18 instances, usually posing as her father and asking questions on her whereabouts, in line with courtroom paperwork. In one other incident, he left a voice message on the college with vulgar threats, figuring out himself below the serial killer pseudonym.
Weeks later, when he was arrested, his name log had been cleared. However the telephone was registered to the identical quantity that he had known as the varsity from, prosecutors stated. It additionally had photographs of Ms. LaRue and her daughter on it.
Till his arrest, Mr. Rogers had been working as a nurse’s assistant at a nursing dwelling, in line with courtroom paperwork. He stated he was the caretaker for his mom.
Mr. Rogers stated in mitigation that he had grown up a social outcast with difficulties together with his dad and mom and struggles at school, in line with courtroom paperwork. He additionally stated he had restricted mobility, however prosecutors stated the F.B.I. discovered that declare to be false. He stated at his sentencing that he was receiving psychological well being remedy, CNN reported.
A former F.B.I. agent instructed CNN that Mr. Rogers, indicted in 2019, had been recognized utilizing genetic family tree, which makes use of databases to match DNA to a big community of individuals. The authorities instructed CNN they’d used DNA left on a discarded straw to put him, resulting in his arrest.
Genetic family tree has been used to unravel many high-profile instances lately, together with in 2018 to determine Joseph James DeAngelo because the Golden State Killer.
Mr. Rogers apologized to Ms. LaRue through video convention at his sentencing on Thursday, CNN reported.
“I’m so apprehensive what’s going to occur when he will get out,” Ms. LaRue stated in her sufferer influence assertion, in line with CNN.
“I used to be afraid for my life,” her daughter stated.
The F.B.I. investigated the case, and the violent and arranged crime part of america Lawyer’s Workplace prosecuted.