"NCIS" star Pauley Perrette's fight to change stalking laws
Correspondent Erin Moriarty and "48 Hours" investigate multiple terrifying cases of stalking and the efforts driven by Pauley Perrette, star of CBS' NCIS, to change laws that she says are outdated or ineffective, in a rebroadcast of "Stalked," a two-hour special airing Saturday, Sept. 9 from 9-11 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.
Last year, singer Christina Grimmie was shot dead by a fan she didn't know was stalking her online. He showed up at an Orlando, Fla., concert armed with two handguns. Grimmie's death "should be a huge wake-up call," says Perrette, who has been stalked for more than a decade. "Anyone watching this at any time could suddenly become a victim of a stalker."
"'48 Hours" exposes the extreme, often debilitating emotional toll that being stalked has had on Perrette and others, including a lawyer, a single mother and an internet celebrity. They explain vividly, through intimate interviews, what it feels like to be targeted and how being stalked made their lives feel smaller.
Moriarty also takes viewers inside her efforts to talk with Justin Massler, a serial stalker with diagnosed mental illness, who was arrested in 2010 for stalking President Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka, and who previously targeted the Kardashians. In a gripping interview with Moriarty, Massler displays behavior that veers between sane and pure rage.
"For me, being stalked is similar to having your head held underwater," says Lenora Claire, who has been stalked by Massler for nearly six years. "You can't breathe. You can't scream 'cause no one's going to hear you. And you're just – you're waiting for it to be over."
Claire says she lives in constant fear that Massler could "rape me, kidnap me, kill me, gas me, go after my friends, go after my family. It's just crept into every part of my life."
Stalking is often a silent crime with victims frequently afraid to speak out, fearing doing so will further enrage their stalker, something Perrette knows well.
"I'm so scared sitting here talking about it," Perrette tells Moriarty. "It puts the same fear into every victim. But we can't keep this a secret. We have to be courageous. We have to get these laws changed. I'm here for other victims. I'm here for the next victim."
Perrette adds that most people think only celebrities are stalked because that's what they see in the news. "But people are stalked every day, in every town in America," she tells Moriarty. Perrette says she was completely terrorized, and when she reached out for help, she found law enforcement was slow to take her seriously. "I was told by a police officer once that I should have stayed and let my stalker break my arms so then they would have something to prosecute," Perrette tells Moriarty. "And at the root of it all is that people do not take stalking seriously."
The experience put Perrette on a path to seek help for future stalking victims by working to get laws changed and to give police more ways to stop the harassment. She's banded together with other victims and is actively meeting with congressional representatives to change the laws and raise awareness within law enforcement.
"The first victimization is being stalked and terrorized, and the second victimization is that the system does not work for stalking victims," Perrette says.
"You never know who's watching you," says California Deputy District Attorney Wendy Segall. "And you don't know who's watching you over the internet. You're out there in a way that you never were before."
RESOURCES
- Are you being stalked? Learn more about the signs of stalking and how to help yourself or someone you know who may be in danger from the National Center for the Victims of Crime
- What to do if you are being stalked: Kris Mohandie, a stalking expert and police psychologist, explains the four common categories of stalkers and offers guidance on some practical steps for those who think they may be being stalked
Stalking Resource Center from the National Center for the Victims of Crime
If you're in Los Angeles and need help: Email the LAPD's Specialized Threat Management Unit
National Domestic Violence Hotline: (800) 799-7233