Hunter
01/14/20
An Iowa City man has been taken into custody after what police say was a year-long campaign of stalking, harassing and intimidating the mother of his child.
According to arrest reports, 28-year-old Eric Spratt, who lists his address as Shelter House, began the harassment in May of 2018. Over a period that ended May 16th the following year, the victim contacted the police nine times referencing harassment, trespass, and no-contact-order violations from Spratt.
The first time the woman contacted police was when Spratt allegedly was outside her window. An officer located Spratt crouched outside the residence, and he was given a trespass warning.
Other times the woman called regarding Spratt, being at her door, knocking on her windows, and contacting her through social media and by numerous telephone calls. On one occasion, Spratt is accused of breaking into the woman’s home, breaking her phone, and threatening to punch her in the stomach while she was pregnant with his child.
In the arrest report summary, police say that over the course of a year, Spratt repeatedly maintained a visual or physical proximity to the victim, and made multiple threats of bodily harm. On at least one occasion, Spratt made threats, telling the woman that police would not be able to help her. She reported being scared to the point that she thought about purchasing a gun for her protection. They say that Spratt’s alleged behavior would cause a reasonable person to feel terrorized, threatened, or intimidated.
Spratt was taken into custody Monday night, charged with stalking and violation of protective order, a class D felony, and contempt, a simple misdemeanor. He was released Tuesday morning. If convicted on the charges, Spratt could be sentenced to over five years in prison.
