Minnesota Woman Charged With Stalking After Allegedly Texting Man 696 Times
A Minnesota woman who sent 696 text messages to a northern Iowa man is being charged with stalking, according to The New York Post.
Katie Christian, 34, is accused of violating a no-contact order. She allegedly contacted a northern Iowa man a total of 709 times, including 696 text messages, 10 phone calls, and three visits to his home to contact the man or his daughter.
In addition to the felony stalking charge, Christian is also being charged with two counts of harassment and eight violations of her no-contact order, according to the Globe Gazette.
Felony stalking is punishable by up to five years in prison under Iowa law. She may also face a $7,500 fine, according to CityPages.
Although the circumstances surrounding the original restraining order have not been revealed, the protection order took effect on April 1.
All the alleged contacts took place between April 1 and April 22 of this year, and she will be arraigned August 24 in Winnebago County, Iowa.
This case is reminiscent of a case that made headlines in May. In that case, an Arizona woman named Jacqueline Claire Ades was accused of sending 65,000 text messages to a man she went on one date with. She allegedly also broke into his home, according to People.
In an interview with reporters, Ades said, “I felt like I met my soulmate and everything was just the way it was. I thought we would do what everybody else did, but that’s not what happened.”
Ades went on to tell reporters why she allegedly sent thousands of texts. “Because it made me find out all my information…Loving him selflessly brought me his information. Because everybody just wants to take. But if you just give and you don’t stop giving, you will all of a sudden receive a lot.”
Don't you hate it when an ex just want stop texting u ??? Katie Christian an Emmons, Minnesota woman arrested after sending 696 texts messages in violation of no contact order over a 3 week period to an Iowa man. https://t.co/TaBZIKlBq5
— Scallywagandvagabond (@ScallywagNYC) August 11, 2018
Ades was arrested when she was found allegedly taking a bath in the man’s home. Police also found a knife in her car, according to USA Today. She was charged with threatening and intimidating, failure to appear in court, harassment, and stalking.
The Office of Women’s Health defines stalking as “any repeated and unwanted contact that makes you feel unsafe.”
According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, stalking behaviors include unwanted phone calls, unwanted emails and texts, showing up at places unexpectedly, and waiting at places for the victim. There are criminal laws in all 50 states that address stalking.
Although in both these cases, the stalking victims were men, in general, women are more likely to be victims of stalking than men. The Office of Women’s Health recommends that victims of stalking file a complaint with police and get a restraining order.
