Woman, 71, jailed for stalking Catholic priest

An elderly German woman was jailed for 14 months on Thursday for stalking a Catholic priest for more than 13 years. She stripped naked and danced in front of him on more than one occasion, the court heard.



The 71-year-old woman, known only as Christel G., hassled the Rev. Michael Hammerschmidt, 59, for over a decade with letters, emails, text messages and phone calls declaring her undying love, she confessed to the court through her lawyer.



Nearly every day Christel G. decorated the priest's front garden in the Sauerland region, North-Rhine Westphalia, with roses, love letters and condoms. When asked how she had met him, Christel G. said: "I met him by chance in the year 2000. It hit me like a bolt of lightning. I didn't know that he was the priest."



Christel G.'s full confession meant the court was concerned with whether prison or psychiatric care would be the more appropriate course of action. After hearing testimonies from expert witnesses, the court in Meschede, North Rhine-Westphalia, sentenced her to one year and two months in prison.