My Experience with a Stalker

I met him at a college party. He was very quiet and didn't say much until he started drinking. Then he would become the life of the party by singing Def Leppard songs word for word. "Rockin' Rodney" everyone called him.

He eventually moved in with my brother. Whenever I saw him, I felt sorry for him. He was a loner whom all the girls ignored. Except for me. Like I said, I felt sorry for him. I talked to him and we became friends, sort of. A college classmate of mine was from his hometown. I asked if she knew him and she told me he was strange and in high school he was considered a real weirdo. I thought that was kind of mean.

Eventually, my brother graduated from college so I really didn't have any reason to make the 50-mile drive anymore to visit him. I forgot all about Rodney, but it was apparent he hadn't forgotten me.

It was a cold, blustery day in January and my shift at work had finally ended. It was dark in the parking lot. When I finally got to my car, I got in and started it up. I had to get back out to get the frost and snow off of my windshield. That's when I noticed him. He was sitting there, not too far away in his pickup. He startled me and I felt a tingly sensation down my spine.It wasn't from the cold.

He called out to me and told me I looked different, more ladylike, or something like that. It had been about a year since I had last seen him. I asked if he lived in Fargo and he told me no, he had moved back home. He decided to make the three-hour drive just to see me, despite the ugly weather. This totally creeped me out.

I don't know what else I said. I just got into my car and drove home. I kept looking back to see if he was following me. I got home and looked around, he was nowhere to be seen.

I began to recount conversations I had with Rodney when he and my brother lived together. The times he called me and said things like he was moving to South Carolina for work and that I should move with him. The time he sent me Black Hills gold jewelry for my birthday (which I later pawned off). At the time, I thought he was just being funny or being a friend. My roommate used to tease me that he was in love with me. I suppose I should have cut off communication with him but I was just too nice.

After the parking lot incident, things got really strange. He obviously knew where I lived because a couple of times he showed up at the apartment when I wasn't home asking my roommates where I was. They began to get creeped out as well.

Then something really strange happened. I lived with three other girls and our apartment was actually the upper level of a house. My then-boyfriend and his roommate lived on the main level. One night, I was at my boyfriends sitting on the couch with the windows opened behind us. We talked about Rodney and my ex called him certain names. The next day, Rodney called me and asked why we called him those names. He had been outside under the window listening to our conversation.

From time to time I would see Rodney in his pickup across the street from where I lived. I tried to ignore him, thinking he was harmless. Weird but harmless.

Then one day my ex called and told me Rodney had followed him to work and threatened to hurt him. As soon as Chris got home, he got out his hunting rifle. He took the threat seriously.

The phone calls from Rodney increased. This was before caller id so we never knew if it was him calling or not. When me or my roommates realized it was him, we would hang up but he would persistently try to call and the phone would ring and ring. I felt horrible that this guy was not only making me miserable but my friends miserable as well.

During this whole time, I always thought Rodney would eventually just go away and leave me alone. When this didn't appear to be the case, we got the police involved. We told them about the parking lot incident, the threat, the never-ending phone calls. They told me that every time he called I was supposed to write it down in a journal and if I ever talked to him that I needed to write down every word. Eventually we were able to put a restraining order against Rodney.

Finally, Rodney left me alone. Apparently he went back home and rumor had it he had gone crazy one day, ransacking his parents home and ending up on the roof with a crowbar threatening his dad. Later I heard he was admitted to the psyche ward at the state hospital.

The whole ordeal was emotionally draining and I was so thankful to know he was put away somewhere. Currently, I have no idea where he is. I can only hope he got the help he so desperately needed. Every now and then I look behind me when I'm driving or wonder if he's trying to track me down. It was a horrible experience that still affects me to this day.

Some Facts about Stalking¹

• 3.4 million people over the age of 18 are stalked each year in the United States.
• 3 in 4 stalking victims are stalked by someone they know.
• Persons aged 18-24 years experience the highest rate of stalking.
• 1 in 4 victims report being stalked through the use of some form of technology (such as e-mail or instant messaging).
• 46% of stalking victims fear not knowing what will happen next.
• 29% of stalking victims fear the stalking will never stop.
• 1 in 7 stalking victims move as a result of their victimization.
• 2/3 of stalkers pursue their victims at least once per week, many daily, using more than one method.

¹Source: The National Center for Victims of Crime