A Glenview man has been sentenced to 5 years in federal prison for threatening a woman he met in university and her fiancé including sending them rat poison by the mail and telling the woman she should have died in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York, authorities said.
Patrick Kearney, 41, of Glenview, has been sentenced to five years in federal prison after pleading guilty to two counts of stalking, one count of transmitting threats via interstate commerce, and two counts of making harassing telephone calls, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Indiana
“This serious federal prison sentence is an appropriate consequence for the defendant’s years-long campaign of cruel threats and harassment. He chose to terrorize an innocent couple and rob them of safety and peace — driven by his toxic mix of entitlement and resentment,” said Zachary A. Myers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. “As we near the end of Stalking Awareness Month, we must raise awareness that stalking crimes can manifest in many forms as our digital world evolves. Even without physical violence, the threat of escalation and fear of the unknown can be deeply traumatizing for victims. These actions are simply unacceptable, and federal law enforcement agencies will work together to identify the perpetrators and hold them accountable.”
Beginning in September 2019, and continuing through Oct. 4, 2022, Kearney engaged in a targeted campaign of stalking, intimidation, and harassment directed towards “victims 1 and 2,” the release said. It said Kearney met Victim 1 in the early 2000s, when they both attended the same university, and that Kearney pursued a relationship with Victim 1 by trying to walk with her after class, meeting her at her dorm, calling the dorm phone, and leaving mail at her dorm mailbox.
Victim 1 did not reciprocate interest in a relationship with Kearney and she graduated from college, married her husband, “Victim 2” and had not seen Kearney since, the release said
In September 2019, Kearney began sending Victim 1 anonymous handwritten letters to her home in Indiana, mostly stating that Victim 1 “should have died in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks,” said the release. It also said the letters typically included pictures or drawings of the World Trade Center burning.
Kearney also sent approximately 23 handwritten letters to Victim 1 between September 2019 and September 2022, all “including similar abusive language and most referencing September 11, 2001,” according to the release.
In addition, the release said Kearney also began repeatedly calling Victim 1’s cell phone at all hours, leaving “threatening voicemails and using different phone numbers to avoid being blocked.”
In February 2022, Kearney mailed a package from Arizona to Victim 1’s home that contained Raid roach bait and a handwritten note stating, “Here is some poison for you and give the rest to your idiot boyfriend!,” said the release.
It said that in May 2022, Kearney mailed victims 1 and 2 a package from Arizona that contained Combat cockroach poison, including a note stating that “the couple should eat the poison.”
In July 2022, at approximately 5:04 am, Kearney called Victim 2 and left a voicemail threatening that “you and her (Victim 1) should be shot in the f****** head,” the release said.
It also said that as the victims were planning their wedding in 2022, they created a website that included wedding registry information and that Kearney began leaving voicemails for Victims 1 and 2 impersonating customer service representatives from Crate & Barrel and Target and threatened to “show up at the wedding and ruin it.”
Between October 2019 and September 2022, Kearney placed approximately 357 phone calls to Victim 1’s cell phone and left over 120 voicemails, the release said. It also said that Between May 2022 and August 2022, Kearney placed approximately 47 phone calls to Victim 2’s cell phone and left at least 35 voicemails.
More Top Picks Theragun Vs Hypervolt Massage Guns
“United States Postal Inspectors work diligently to keep U.S. Postal Service customers, and all Americans, safe from criminals who use the U.S. Mail system to further their illegal actions,” said Rodney M. Hopkins, Inspector in Charge for the Detroit Division of the United States Postal Inspection Service.
The 5-year sentence was imposed by U.S. District Court Chief Judge Tanya Walton Pratt, who also ordered that Kearney be supervised for three years following his release from federal prison and pay a $500 fine.
Brian L. Cox is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.