March 28, 2024
BANGOR DAILY NEWS (BANGOR, MAINE

Maine woman files lawsuit to keep stalker at distance

PORTLAND — A Westbrook woman who is suing a man who has stalked her for 19 months, said that an order of protection has failed to keep him away.

Joanne M. Stinson, 30, asked a judge to issue a permanent order to prevent Richard C. Slaughter, 35, of Topsham from getting near her. Her lawsuit also seeks money to compensate her for emotional pain and the cost of protecting herself.

The lawsuit, filed in Cumberland County Superior Court, is the most drastic step yet in Stinson’s efforts to get away from Slaughter, a man with whom she had two dinner dates in 1992.

Neither Stinson nor Slaughter could be reached for comment. Stinson is not listed in the Greater Portland directory, while Slaughter has an unpublished number in Topsham.

While Stinson is seeking compensation, she “would gladly pay 10 times what she’s already paid just to get this guy out of her life,” said Dale Austin, a private investigator she hired.

“Joanne is so frustrated, so scared, so shook up that she’ll do anything legally to get this guy away from her,” said Austin.

Last December, Topsham police served Slaughter with court papers ordering him to stop harassing her. Despite that, Stinson has recorded 41 incidents involving Slaughter since then, the lawsuit said.

It said that Slaughter has spied on her, followed her and has been seen peeking into her windows. Also, Slaughter has twice persuaded a real estate agent to show him Stinson’s apartment, which is up for sale, the lawsuit said.

Slaughter was arrested in August and charged with violating the protection order. He is free on bail.

Ten days later, phone calls from Slaughter resumed at Stinson’s home and workplace, the lawsuit said.

Austin said one concern is that the lawsuit will upset Slaughter, who was indicted in the death of a woman he allegedly stalked in Virginia.

Police say Slaughter is as obsessed with Stinson as he was with Olivia Thorndike of Richmond, Va., who was fatally stabbed in 1981.

A grand jury indicted him on a murder charge, which was withdrawn when a key witness left the area.


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