LOS ANGELES — An Ohio man was sentenced to 40 months in federal prison Thursday for harassing a television actress and her daughter for 12 years, whom he threatened to torture, rape and kill.
According to the United States Department of Justice, James Rogers, 58, of Heath pleaded guilty in April to two counts of mailing threatening communications, one count of threats by interstate communications, and two counts of stalking.
From March 2007 until his arrest in November 2019, Rogers stalked, threatened, and harassed “CSI: Miami” and “All My Children" actress Eva LaRue and her daughter, who was five years old when the threats began.
In February 2008, he sent LaRue a letter in which he vowed, “I am going to…stalk you until the day you die," according to court documents.
The U.S. Attorney's Office said Rogers signed each letter using the name “Freddy Krueger,” the fictional serial killer from the horror film series “A Nightmare on Elm Street.”
In October 2019, Rogers called the school where LaRue’s daughter attended, claiming to be her father, and asked if she was present. He contacted the school a month later and left a voicemail in which he identified himself as “Freddy Krueger” and threatened to “rape her, molest her, and kill her.”
“[LaRue and her daughter] moved numerous times in hopes that [Rogers] would not find them again. They drove circuitous routes home, slept with weapons nearby and had discussions about how to seek help quickly if [Rogers] found them and tried to harm them. They tried to anonymize their addresses as much as possible by avoiding receiving mail and packages at their actual address. To no avail. Each time they moved, [Rogers’] letters – and the victims’ terror – would always follow. And [Rogers] knew it.," prosecutors wrote in the sentencing memorandum filed in court.
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