An Ohio man who stalked CSI: Miami star Eva LaRue for over a decade was sentenced to over three years in prison earlier this month. James David Rogers, 58, was sentenced to 40 months in federal prison on Sept. 8, the Justice Department said. Rogers sent LaRue, 55, more than three dozen letters in his 12-year campaign to psychologically assault the actress and her daughter, Kaya Callahan.
Rogers pleaded guilty to two counts of mailing threatening communications, one count of threats by interstate communications, and two counts of stalking in April. He was sentenced by U.S. District Judge John A. Kronstadt. During the sentencing hearing in Los Angeles, LaRue told Rogers she could forgive him but never forget what he did. “The fear is with me forever,” she said, reports CNN.
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The Heath, Ohio man began sending letters to LaRue in March 2007, according to court documents. Some of the 37 letters sent between 2007 and 2015 mentioned her daughter. In a February 2008 letter, Rogers wrote, “I am going to…stalk you until the day you die.” He threatened to rape LaRue and Callahan, who was 5 years old when the campaign began. In June 2015, when LaRue’s daughter was 13, Rogers addressed a letter to her, in which he wrote, “I am the man who has been stalking for the last 7 years. Now I have my eye on you too.” According to court documents, he signed his letters “Freddie Kreuger,” referencing the serial killer from A Nightmare on Elm Street.
In October and November 2019, Rogers called the school LaRue’s daughter attended at the time, prosecutors said. He claimed to be the girl’s father and spoke with a school employee. In November 2019, he left a message at the school, identifying himself as Freddie Kreuger. He threatened to “rape her, molest her, and kill her.”
The FBI used genetic genealogyย technology to trace the letters to Rogers, reports CNN. The technology was first used in California to capture the Golden State Killer. In this case, the FBI used DNA from the envelopes. A database found a list of the suspect’s relatives, which led them to a small Ohio town. They arrested Rogers after finding his DNA on an Arby’s straw.
LaRue told CNN she was so scared of the stalker that she moved her family to Italy, where she lived with a friend. After a few months, she moved back to California and used an LLC to buy her next home. However, the letters began arriving at the new address. LaRue and her daughter often drove circular routes home, slept with weapons nearby, and talked about how to find help if Rogers ever hurt them, prosecutors said in a sentencing memorandum.
During his sentencing hearing, Rogers told the judge via a video link he was raised in an abusive home and was bullied at school. He is now receiving mental health treatment. He apologized to LaRue for “putting you and your family through hellish behavior” and accepted responsibility. “I hope you can put this behind you and at some point never think about me again,” he said.
LaRue told the judge she was concerned about what Rogers will do when he leaves prison. Callahan said there was a “paranoia” about her safety at school after Rogers tried to contact her there. “I want to feel OK again,” she told the court. “Safe.”ย
