Stalker with TS
Question:
> Thanks for posting this, Jo. > I’m sure I must be among the many who are thinking, "What does Tourette have to > do with this…. and if his stalking is obsessive, then why aren’t they talking > about a stalker with OCD? WHY is Tourette getting the bad press again?"
I don’t think TS is ‘getting bad press" in this case. I only recall one comment that he had TS. Again, any condition can cut across any segment of society! But my eyes are hurting from squinting while painting because I didn’t wear my ’stoopid’ new progressive bi-focals….. or maybe from the increased reading I’m doing when I manage to turn off BOTH the TV and the PC…..amazing! Jo
Response:
Newsgroups: alt.support.tourette References: Message-ID: <26Yl6.10877$CW1.8373…@typhoon.ne.mediaone.net> <983065710.3a98646ebc…@webmail.cotse.com> Subject: Re: Stalker with TS – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -"Joanne Cohen" <joco…@mediaone.net> wrote: >> Thanks for posting this, Jo. >> I’m sure I must be among the many who are thinking, "What does Tourette >have to >> do with this…. and if his stalking is obsessive, then why aren’t they >talking >> about a stalker with OCD? WHY is Tourette getting the bad press again?" >I don’t think TS is ‘getting bad press" in this case. I only recall one >comment that he had TS. Again, any condition can cut across any segment of >society! But my eyes are hurting from squinting while painting because I >didn’t wear my ’stoopid’ new progressive bi-focals….. or maybe from the >increased reading I’m doing when I manage to turn off BOTH the TV and the >PC…..amazing! >Jo
– Tourette Syndrome "Plus": http://www.tourettesyndrome.net Disclaimer: I do not proofread my usenet posts. I consider myself fortunate if they’re relatively coherent and quit while I’m ahead. All spelling and grammar errors are obviously made by my evil twin, and complaints should be addressed to her, not me.
Response:
"Joanne Cohen" <joco…@mediaone.net> wrote: >Unfortunately… >Man charged with stalking gymnast, 17 >————————————————————————– — >—- >HANNAH ALLAM and JOHN WELBES STAFF WRITERS >————————————————————————– — >—- >As far back as December, parents at area high schools noticed the heavyset, >brown-haired man with binoculars who began watching and videotaping female >gymnasts during competitions.
<snip of rest of article> Thanks for posting this, Jo. I’m sure I must be among the many who are thinking, "What does Tourette have to do with this…. and if his stalking is obsessive, then why aren’t they talking about a stalker with OCD? WHY is Tourette getting the bad press again?" As we continue to go through discussion about what is, and what is not, Tourette spectrum… or what’s associated vs. comorbid, and all the other discussions we have here, this is one of those cases that we need to keep in mind. That sometimes we land up with bad press if too much is "lumped" under one thing. No, I don’t want to smear people with OCD or suggest that all people with OCD are going to be stalkers. But this obviously isn’t a tic we’re talking about, either. <sigh> — Leslie http://www.tourettesyndrome.net Tourette Syndrome "Plus"
Response:
Unfortunately… Man charged with stalking gymnast, 17 ————————————————————————— – —- HANNAH ALLAM and JOHN WELBES STAFF WRITERS ————————————————————————— – —- As far back as December, parents at area high schools noticed the heavyset, brown-haired man with binoculars who began watching and videotaping female gymnasts during competitions. Stevens At a meet last week, several parents from Henry Sibley High School in Mendota Heights confronted the man, identified as 36-year-old Richard Charles Stevens. Stevens told the parents he didn’t know anyone on the team, and parents believe that incident may have led him to target a 17-year-old Sibley gymnast who was present during the confrontation. Stevens was charged Wednesday with felony stalking. He was arrested Monday after he parked his car outside the girl’s home in Mendota Heights, police said. Earlier that day Stevens had made a harassing phone call to the house, according to a Dakota County criminal complaint. The call was traced to the Health Partners Clinic in Inver Grove Heights and was made by a man who matched Stevens’ description. The girl’s mother told police that Stevens had also followed her daughter to a Lilydale gas station after a meet several weeks ago, the complaint said. In court on Wednesday, Dakota County Judge Robert King set bail at $70,000 and ordered Stevens to stay five miles away from the school and the girl’s home. Stevens balked at the conditions of release, saying the distance would prevent him from seeing his doctor, mother and grandmother. He apparently suffers from Tourette’s syndrome and collects a disability check from Social Security, said Monica Bogner, spokeswoman for the county attorney. The judge ordered him to follow the conditions, even if it meant switching doctors. Stevens has a long criminal history that includes a Ramsey County conviction for a 1998 assault on a 27-year-old homeless woman he grabbed in front of his downtown apartment building, said Sgt. Richard Munoz, a St. Paul homicide investigator who worked the case. Stevens punched, kicked and clubbed the woman as he tried to push her into his apartment, Munoz said. Stevens was arrested after neighbors heard the struggle and helped the woman escape. Stevens’ public defender did not return calls seeking comment on Wednesday. Munoz said prosecutors wanted to push for harsher charges in the 1998 incident but couldn’t locate the victim, who said she was scared and may have fled to family in Wisconsin. In the end, Munoz said, prosecutors settled for a guilty plea on charges of second-degree assault. Stevens was on supervised release from the Minnesota Department of Corrections at the time of his arrest this week. Janet Norris, who attended a gymnastics meet at North Senior High in North St. Paul earlier this month, said several parents noticed Stevens, his binoculars and camera equipment. Norris’ daughter used to compete for the Woodbury High School squad and Norris was there to cheer on the team. Stevens was sitting in the second row near the floor exercise area and was “not even trying to be subtle,” Norris said. She was amazed to see that during the awards ceremony after the meet, he walked out and took pictures of the girls with parents who were doing the same. She recognized Stevens when she saw a picture of him on an Internet news site Wednesday. Parents confronted Stevens at the North St. Paul meet as well, she said. Tom Orth, the athletic director at Sibley, said he heard of Stevens’ suspicious activity a week ago. He talked to administrators at St. Paul’s Highland Park High School, where the sectional gymnastics meet was held last weekend, and told them to be on the lookout for Stevens. Orth was told that Stevens did show up at that meet but it’s unclear whether he was asked to leave. Mendota Heights Police Chief Scott Johnson said police are investigating parents’ reports that Stevens was seen videotaping gymnasts at meets in St. Paul, North St. Paul and Cottage Grove. Stevens will next appear in court on March 12.
