A college friend is being serial stalked and harassed, for several years now by an ex-roommate, and she is unable to get help. Yesterday after discovering a slew of hateful and threatening emails in her Spam dir, she called 911 (on my advice). They said they would be sending out officers and they never did.

This is obviously an abbreviated account, but this has been going on for years now, and since the presidential election this stalker as ratcheted up the harassment and the rhetoric.

She does not have many finacial means, is naturally timid, and has 4 adult children who are out of the house, but this criminal knows who they are and she fears direct action against this man.

I advised her to call 911, document EVERYTHING, and when it happens again, file another police report and keep doing so. In the past she tried to file on this man, and all they did was chase down an old address and then interviewed his sister, then squat. I also advised her to find a local advocacy/support group to speak with and get some support from.

This abuse takes place over email, text, and 1st person ( flattened tires, jammed keyways, etc etc). The abuser is a card carrying / tattooed Nazi, whom I suspect is on boards and forums learning how to cover his tracks, obfuscate sources etc.

What the fuck can ne done about this? I am not in tbe same region as she is BTW.

Thank you, seriously, deeply Thank You.

Columbus, Ohio, US

UPDATE: 15:03 EST: I have finally gotten through the broken Columbus, Ohio prosecutor’s office phone tree to an advocate for the local DV/Stalking Unit and they are now speaking together.

  • yesman@lemmy.world
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    1 day ago

    According to the SCOTUS, the State and police have no constitutional duty to protect the public, uphold the law, or enforce court orders.

    source: (warning child harm)

    DeShaney v. Winnebago
    Town of Castle rock v. Gonzales.

  • robocall@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    Go to the police station to make a report. Bring the emails/evidence with. Then get a temporary restraining order.

    • Luci@lemmy.ca
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      2 days ago

      I had to go to the police station to be taken seriously even have multiple calls and officers seeing the harassment first hand. Be careful, my harasser knew exactly how to push the line and it took a death threat on camera before anything was done

    • radicalautonomy@lemmy.world
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      Lmao, yes go report the white supremacist to the organization largely populated by white supremacists, I’m sure they’ll get right on it.

        • treefrog@lemm.ee
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          2 days ago

          In which case the appropriate advice is dust off the +5 battleaxe and get out of retirement, girl!

          But no, seriously, she should get some mace. And probably let her kids know what’s happening as well as file for a restraining order. Violence like this unchecked escalates.

      • SweatyFireBalls@lemmy.world
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        In all seriousness this was the only thing I could think of myself and then I had a moment of thought about a dwarf (irl not rpg) having a stalker. It is something that never crossed my mind. Not to say they couldn’t or anything but I could just feel the realization hit.

        Anyway, cheers for the actual definition before the brain rot set in too hard.

  • Tiefling IRL
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    Police are useless and will take the side of the abuser, but she needs a police report to get a restraining order

  • agent_nycto@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    Either call 211 or go to 211.com and they will help you, they connect you with every community resource for your county, and if you tell them what happened they can help with you even finding a new place and maybe even help get a lawyer. Temporary housing for animals, helping with apartment, help with living expenses, all sorts of stuff

  • protist@mander.xyz
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    2 days ago

    She should document absolutely everything and then seek a protective order in whatever jurisdiction she’s in. She should also really consider setting up a camera to record any areas she’s concerned he will visit or vandalize again. Video evidence will be actionable where harassment through email/text frequently is not actionable. She could maybe reach out to a domestic violence shelter in her area for advice too, as they should be experts on this type of situation

  • gnomesaiyan@lemmy.world
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    She might want to invest in a personal body cam. It’s something I’ve thought about, being a transgender person. If anything happens, it’s all recorded and very damning evidence.

    • meco03211@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      As always, when things like this are mentioned, be sure to check your state and local laws for one or two party consent rules.