An obsessed fan who told a judge Wednesday he had been raped in prison was sentenced to five years probation for stalking "Law and Order" actress Kathryn Erbe.
Charles Nagel, 37, trashed the star, wept and pleaded for mercy in an all-out bid to avoid going to jail for harassing the actress and members of her family with bizarre emails and letters.
The pudgy creep showed no remorse for the campaign of terror he waged after he thought Erbe had rejected his demand for a hug and autographs on the set of the TV show.
Nagel posted a photo of Erbe's young daughter on Facebook with a cockroach drawn on her face and the words "I'm ugly" scrawled in a bubble next to her mouth. He also defaced her brother's photo with homophobic graffiti.
"I really never had any malicious or salacious intentions," he said in Brooklyn Federal Court. "I was scapegoated by someone."
He shamelessly dragged along his young daughters -- named Harley Quinn and Batgirl -- to beg the judge not to send their father to prison.
Nagel, of Philadelphia, faced up to 57 months in prison, but Judge Jack Weinstein said the sentencing guidelines were too harsh.
"The defendant is a troubled person with serious psychiatric problems requiring continuing treatment and supervision," Weinstein said, adding that he'd already served 115 days behind bars and 380 days of house arrest.
His daughters' visible distress didn't stop Nagel from blubbering that he was raped by an inmate at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn after he was arrested - a claim prosecutor Allon Lifshitz said is false.
The prosecutor also blasted a defense psychologist who referred to the victim in his report as "an attractive actress" but one lacking "unattainable beauty or intimidating sexuality."
Nagel was a ordered to pay $42,000 in restitution to cover Erbe's costs for security and emotional damages.
He told the judge he has no assets, but outside court lawyer Robert Datner acknowledged the defendant owned valuable Batman comic books.
Erbe's publicist did not respond to a request for comment.
But the star testified at the trial that Nagel "infiltrated my life" and grew increasingly persistent after she ignored his missives.
"I got a very bad feeling from him," she said after he approached her one day on the street during a shoot. Just the way he looked at me." |
