Jayne A. Hitchcock, president of WHOA (Women Halting Online Abuse) at http://www.haltabuse.org, received good news on May 17, 2000. Ursula Sprachmann and James Leonard (a.k.a. John Lawrence), who cyberstalked Hitchcock beginning in late 1996, pleaded guilty to federal charges of mail fraud, perjury and lying to a federal officer. The perjury charge is directly related to Hitchcock's civil suit, filed in January 1997. Sprachmann and Leonard's federal trial was supposed to begin May 22, but they decided to plead guilty instead. They will be sentenced in mid-July.
Hitchcock expects a quick resolution in her pending civil suit against Sprachmann and Leonard. Hitchcock sees the trial as a victory for victims of cyberstalking.
"It's been three and a half years of hell," Hitchcock said. "Now justice has been served, proving that if you cyberstalk or harass someone online, you will be punished."
Hitchcock was also recently hired by Internet Crimes, Inc. to develop and conduct cyberstalking workshops for law enforcement nationwide and to teach them how to track down cyberstalkers and deal with victims. She already speaks about the subject to law enforcement and the general public. For more information on this visit http://www.haltabuse.org/speak.html.
