A 32-year-old Indian-American has been sentenced to 19 years in jail in the US for stalking a college classmate from New Delhi to Texas for nearly a decade and threatening her as she moved to several American cities.
Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis convicted Jitender Singh on charges of burglary of a habitation and fraudulent use of information and jailed him for 19 years this week. He also was also ordered to pay a USD 4,000 fine.
"The jury put an end to this victim's decade-long stalking nightmare," Willis said in a statement.
"While we respect the jury's service, we were disappointed with the sentence, and we do intend to appeal," defense attorney Joe Padian said.
According to Willis, Singh first met his victim while they both attended college in Delhi. Though merely classmates, Singh asked the victim to marry him in 2006.
Willis said the victim, whose identity was not released by authorities, refused the proposal, angering Singh.
Singh then began following the victim home and threatened her with violence until she graduated.
In 2007, the victim left India to study at a New York university. However, that didn't end Singh's obsession.
Authorities say he continued his harassment and assaulted the woman's father in India. Singh was convicted for the crimes in India, but made an appeal and agreement with authorities to stay away from the victim.
Singh eventually travelled to New York, where he attempted to enrol at the same university as the victim. He was denied and ordered by the university to stay away from the campus.
When the victim moved to California for an internship, he tracked down her address and followed.
When the woman moved back to New York, Singh followed.
An information technology company hired the victim, and she moved to Plano in 2011.
Between 2011 and 2014, Singh harassed the victim through phone calls and other electronic means, Willis alleged.
In 2014, Singh located the victim's address in Plano by falsely creating a credit monitoring service account in her name.
While the victim was away, Singh travelled to Plano and broke into her home by convincing a locksmith to unlock her door.
Singh took her passport, social security card and other documents as well as several pieces of her jewelry.
A suspicious neighbour called Plano police which located Singh in the parking lot of the victim's apartment and arrested him in 2014.
