This story is about sexual harassment, stalking, and the utter failure of society to protect women. A young woman in Florida was murdered by a man who had been stalking her for two years. She was denied a protector order from him just a week earlier. As someone who has been a victim of street harassment and sexual harassment numerous times, this news story just broke my heart.
– Gabrielle
“A central Florida woman was shot and killed in her workplace by a stalker just one week after a judge denied her request for an emergency order of protection against the man, authorities said…
In a request for an order of protection, Alissa Blanton said Troy had been stalking her for the past two years. The two first met when she worked as a waitress at a Hooters restaurant in Merritt Island, Fla. Troy, a Cocoa Beach, Fla., businessman and regular customer, allegedly began harassing her on a regular basis. She said she turned down his requests for her phone number but eventually relented and provided him with her e-mail address…
The alleged harassment continued. In 2008, Blanton, in desperation, quit her job just to get away from Troy. That failed to end her torment, she said…
Despite Blanton’s 72-page petition, Brevard County Circuit Judge John Dean Moxley was not convinced that the situation was dire. Last week, he denied her request for emergency protection. Following the shooting, Moxley told the Orlando Sentinel he had not been able to determine whether Troy’s actions met the legal definition of stalking…”
