In the US, stalking is a crime punishable by going to prison. This is why there are so many people who seek help from the government to provide them the protection they need against those that are stalking them. Celebrities are no exemption to this as they are more visible to the public than those who live in privacy.
Very often, we hear of celebrities being stalked by men and how their cases are being dealt with by the court. But for Oscar-winning actress, Gwyneth Paltrow, dealing with a stalker has been a fearful experience for her for the past 17 years; especially since the man has already been sent to a mental health facility after an earlier stalking conviction in 2000. Years later and the same man has returned to stalk the 43-year-old actress.
On Monday, Paltrow took the stand as she faced her stalker, Dante Michael Soiu, in court. Soiu is a 66-year-old man from Ohio who was arrested on June 2, 2015 and was charged with one felony count of stalking. Prior to his arrest, he was found not guilty by reason of insanity in 2000 when he was involved in a stalking case against Paltrow. Instead, he was sent to a mental institution where he spent several years. Unfortunately, this did not stop Soiu from sending correspondence to Paltrow in 2009 until his arrest last year. Soiu was alleged to have sent hundreds of letters, packages and emails to the actress.
During the trial, Paltrow was the first witness called. She also authenticated 48 of the letters she received from Soiu, many of which contain religious messages and some with statements referring to the death of the actress. She also testified that many of the letters and packages contained sex toys, pornography and statements where Soiu wanted to "cleanse her of sin using God's scalpel" and that he had a goal of marrying Paltrow.
During the two and a half hour testimony, Paltrow remained mostly composed while on the witness stand. At one point, LA Times reported to have seen the actress wiping her eyes and showing concern. The prosecutor asked the actress whether or not she feared for her children's safety, to which Paltrow answered yes. The actress also shares that she is scared because Soiu's communications "completely defy logic" and that she has been dealing with the same man and same issue for the past 17 years.
Siou's attorney fights that the letters he sent to Paltrow does not include any pornography. He fights that Soiu is a Christian man who was simply trying to minister to the actress. Apart from sending letters to Paltrow, Soiu admitted to sending 3000 letters to former President George Bush, 150 letters to former President Bill Clinton, and even actress Angelina Jolie.
On her opening statement, Deputy District Attorney Wendy Segall said that this was a case that has shattered Paltrow's sense of security after dealing with this case for 17 years. Soiu shook his head during Segall's opening statement but has remained quiet throughout the testimony of the actress. Soiu pleaded not guilty.
