Man's Stalking Of Young Girl Spurs Call For Legislation -- Oregon Family Fears Suspect's Release From Prison

INDEPENDENCE, Ore. - The man first saw Crystal Peterson up close when she was 7, as she went door-to-door for a charity.

Later came the letters telling the girl he wanted to marry her, run away with her.

"They said things like, `If I can't have her, nobody can have her,' and "We're going to be in heaven some day,' " said the girl's father, Chris Peterson.

The girl, now 11, and her parents would like never to see Robert Coker again. But they fear they will when he's released from prison.

In Portland, a 12-year-old girl was hounded by a man who sent her letters and audio tapes, saying they would marry and she would give him "all the money in the world."

Such stalkers can't be stopped legally under current Oregon law, said Rep. Kevin Mannix, D-Salem.

"The crime of menacing requires a threat of bodily harm," he said. "Just scaring someone is not enough."

Mark Heslinga, a deputy Polk County district attorney who has dealt with Coker's case, said a law is needed to deal with harassing behavior "that has gone beyond the point of tolerance."

20 TO 30 LETTERS

Crystal's father said Coker sent 20 to 30 letters to his daughter over a six-month period in 1991. The family at first didn't know who was sending them, but it was obvious the stalker lived nearby.

"He knew everything, when we went to work, when we came home," Peterson said. "He said once he didn't like Crystal playing with the boy up the street."

Peterson said his wife, Debbie, eventually spotted Coker at night leaving a letter at the house. He lived across the street in this farm town about 10 miles southwest of Salem.

Police couldn't help until Coker was arrested for burglarizing the Peterson house while the family was on vacation. Authorities said he called the girl's grandmother from the house and told her he and Crystal would be together in heaven.

Coker admitted the crime in signing a diversion agreement that kept him out of jail if he made no contact with the girl. He violated the agreement by writing a letter to her, and was sent to prison for 16 months.

Coker is due to be released from Oregon State Correctional Institution in Salem on Jan. 31. Peterson assumes Coker will return to Independence.

FRIGHTENING SITUATION

He said it took Crystal months to cope with her fright over the situation.

"The first few months she was really scared about going to bed, then it tapered off," he said. "She's not so scared now, but it keeps coming back at times."

When the Legislature convenes in January, Mannix said, he hopes to win approval of a measure dealing clearly and strongly with such harassment.

He said 26 states have passed anti-stalking laws, but that some are deficient. A California statute, for example, requires a showing of malice, he said.

"That's a mistake," Mannix said. "Something can be frightening and dangerous, but it may not be malicious."

Mannix said a law can be written "so causing fear or apprehension to a victim can be a crime. Seemingly innocent and inconsequential conduct when totaled up can be very consequential."

The measure Mannix is drafting would create a crime of stalking. It would be defined as acts that "intentionally and knowingly harass, alarm or coerce another person by engaging in repeated and unwanted contact with another person."

The crime would be a Class C felony, carrying a maximum five-year prison term and $100,000 fine.

Mannix says spread of anti-stalker laws is a sign of the times.

"This kind of national movement reflects a feeling that government has a positive obligation to protect its citizens," he said.