Man Charged With Stalking Co-Worker For Years
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- An Inver Grove Heights man faces criminal charges for stalking a former co-worker for years and violating a restraining order.
The Dakota County Attorney's Office says 24-year-old Joseph Jerome Song was charged Tuesday with one count of engaging in a pattern of stalking, and one count of stalking through the repeated delivery of messages.
Song, who was convicted of domestic assault in 2012 in a case involving another woman, has allegedly stalked his former co-worker for four years.
His victim, who has told authorities that she had never had a relationship with him, obtained a restraining order against him in 2014, according to the criminal complaint.
She showed evidence of 77 Facebook messages he had sent her in a two-year period, most of which were sent after she told Song to stop contacting her.
Song also sent his victim several letters while in prison for domestic assault. The letters and messages made it seem that Song and the victim were in a romantic relationship, with him continually professing his love for her.
The victim went to police again in May of 2016 after Song sent her a message, stating that thinks about her every day, and he know he could "get in trouble" for sending them.
She received another message later that month from someone who referred to themselves as Song's friend, saying the he wants to meet with her in person.
In late May, the victim reported yet another restraining order violation involving a special website Song made for her to express his feelings.
"I am just a man … a man entirely in love with you … I am willing to face whatever happens next," Song wrote.
The victim contacted police within the last two weeks to show that Song had send her eight more Facebook messages, where he states that he is "never giving up on her."
She also told police that she had witnessed Song drive by her Inver Grove Heights home, and it has made her afraid to be at her residence and afraid to fall asleep.
Song was arrested on June 13, and admitted to sending the messages despite the restraining order. The criminal complaint says he told police that he was "just doing what he had to do."
He is currently in the Dakota County Jail awaiting his first court appearance. He could face up to 15 years in prison.