Has anyone ever been stalked?

[ViolynEMT]

I recently worked a freelance gig at a huge church function. The second in command as far as security was to be my contact person. He was walking the campus and I was posted. At one point he came and chatted with me. Nothing in particular. Just about life in general. When the job was over, I started getting texts on my cell. He had access to my number because he was security. I then found out that he is in a rehabilitation program run by the church. He has been out of prison for a month after having served 22 years for armed robbery. This guy is really infatuated with me and, frankly, I'm a little afraid of him. I'm afraid to piss him off and I'm not sure how to handle it. I'm going to the police today and I'm going to talk to the church. Has anyone else experienced anything like this?

 

[luke_31]

Unfortunately this kind of thing does happen. You are doing the right thing with talking to the police and the church. I understand it can be difficult to tell him to back off with the concerns you addressed, but you have the right idea with getting others involved to help remedy the situation. I know it may be a pain, but changing your number might not be a bad thing either.

 

[chaz90]

Did you consider asking him to stop texting you? I understand not wanting to piss him off, but that would still seem to be the smart first move for me. Avoid contact with him, ask him to stop texting you for whatever reason you please, and then don't reply to him. If the contact escalates from that point, then consider moving along the chain and getting the police involved.

At this point, while I'm sure it's uncomfortable and inappropriate how he obtained your number, I'm not sure what you would like the police to do. Quite honestly, if he's only been out of prison for a short time this might be how he's trying to make new friends. I'm not trying to minimize your feelings here, but it seems like your biggest issue is that he's a recently released felon. It doesn't seem to me from what you've typed here that he's done anything to you that is truly worthy of being called "stalking," though I completely understand and respect your desire to avoid future contact with him. Good luck, and let us know how it works out!

 

[AtlasFlyer]

If he didn't ASK you for your number, then it's inappropriate for him to be txting you at all. He should not be using work-related resources to find anyone's number to be contacting them outside of a necessary work reason.

Having a Google Voice number is handy for such occasions, it's a real number that can be given out, is not associated with an address, and incoming numbers can be quickly and easily blocked if desired.

 

[ViolynEMT]

Did you consider asking him to stop texting you? I understand not wanting to piss him off, but that would still seem to be the smart first move for me. Avoid contact with him, ask him to stop texting you for whatever reason you please, and then don't reply to him. If the contact escalates from that point, then consider moving along the chain and getting the police involved.

At this point, while I'm sure it's uncomfortable and inappropriate how he obtained your number, I'm not sure what you would like the police to do. Quite honestly, if he's only been out of prison for a short time this might be how he's trying to make new friends. I'm not trying to minimize your feelings here, but it seems like your biggest issue is that he's a recently released felon. It doesn't seem to me from what you've typed here that he's done anything to you that is truly worthy of being called "stalking," though I completely understand and respect your desire to avoid future contact with him. Good luck, and let us know how it works out!

He has made comments that are inappropriate. I have filed a police report. They said that I was doing the right thing. I have texted him and told him that I don't want him to contact me and I'm not going to respond to any possible texts from him from this point on. The next step would be to at least block his number from my phone

 

[Carlos Danger]

By the way you describe it, I think you are overreacting.

Was it tasteless for him to get your number from some directory rather than ask you for it? Sure. Is he a potentially scary guy because he's been in prison? Maybe.

But if all he did was text you.....I wouldn't quite call that stalking, and I wouldn't make a big deal out of it.

 

[ViolynEMT]

By the way you describe it, I think you are overreacting.

Was it tasteless for him to get your number from some directory rather than ask you for it? Sure. Is he a potentially scary guy because he's been in prison? Maybe.

But if all he did was text you.....I wouldn't quite call that stalking, and I wouldn't make a big deal out of it.

I don't want to post some of the things he said. The police assured me, after reading his texts, that my instincts were good.

 

[ViolynEMT]

By the way you describe it, I think you are overreacting.

Was it tasteless for him to get your number from some directory rather than ask you for it? Sure. Is he a potentially scary guy because he's been in prison? Maybe.

But if all he did was text you.....I wouldn't quite call that stalking, and I wouldn't make a big deal out of it.

And, yeah, I probably could've /should've taken the time to come up with something other than stalking. Whatever one chooses to call it, it's the first time something like this has happened and it was freaky to me. May not be to someone else, but it was to me.

 

[Kevinf]

Skeezy guy still hasn't learned how to interact with society after 22 years in prison. Good instincts I say.

 

[phideux]

Don't block his texts, but don't answer any of them either.
If it does amount to anything the texts make good evidence.
I'm 6'2" 210lbs, and don't scare very easy, but if I had a new friend, that spent the last 22yrs in prison, and got my private number without me giving it to him, texting me, I'd be worried.
Who would put someone who just got out of prison, after 22yrs for an armed robbery thing, in as their second in command, for a security gig??????

 

[ViolynEMT]

Don't block his texts, but don't answer any of them either.
If it does amount to anything the texts make good evidence.
I'm 6'2" 210lbs, and don't scare very easy, but if I had a new friend, that spent the last 22yrs in prison, and got my private number without me giving it to him, texting me, I'd be worried.
Who would put someone who just got out of prison, after 22yrs for an armed robbery thing, in as their second in command, for a security gig??????

I haven't blocked my number yet. I'll only do that as a last resort. I still have his texts. It really helped when I went to the police.