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Stalker accused of sending US woman more than 500 unwanted visitors
Honolulu: A Hawaii man accused of cyberstalking and tormenting a Utah woman and her father by sending hundreds of food deliveries, unwanted service providers and prostitutes to their home has been apprehended in Honolulu by the FBI.
The man, Loren Okamura, was arrested November 22 in Honolulu on charges of cyberstalking, making interstate threats and transporting people to engage in prostitution, according to federal court documents.
The warning sign and a police officer’s vehicle at the victim’s home in North Salt Lake, Utah., after plumbers, prostitutes and others were sent to the address. Credit:AP
From late 2018 through to August, Okamura sent the woman "extensive and repeated threats" and posted photos of her face and the family's address on Craigslist, stating that the residents wanted drugs and prostitutes sent to their North Salt Lake home, the authorities said.
The family said that Okamura sent plumbers, tow trucks, locksmiths and prostitutes to the residence, according to court papers. In all, there were more than 80 incidents of unwanted service calls and over 500 of unwanted visitors, the documents show.
The woman and her father had obtained cease-and-desist orders against Okamura and a civil stalking injunction, which he continually violated, court records say.
The visitors were such a nuisance that the family, with help from the police, posted a sign telling workers to call the police if they were asked to provide services at the residence. The sign was next to a police car.
The woman said she received an email in May saying she should "sleep with one eye open" and keep looking over her shoulder, the documents say. The email also suggested that the woman kill herself.
The investigators said that digital information including cellphone records and an Apple ID account tied the harassment to Okamura.
The woman and Okamura met in May 2017 in Hawaii, where she visited him several times before ending their relationship in October 2018, according to court records.
Okamura was indicted October 2 in Utah for the felonies, but the authorities had trouble finding him because he didn't have a known permanent address nor employment in Hawaii, according to court documents.
Okamura appeared in court Wednesday in Honolulu, where Sharron Rancourt, his lawyer, requested that he have his hearing in Utah. Magistrate Judge Kenneth Mansfield signed the transfer request.
The New York Times
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