ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, April 21, 1997 TAG: 9704210157
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: EMERYVILLE, ONTARIO
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
Officers won't name the culprit, but a TV station reported that the besieged family's 15-year-old son has tearfully confessed.
Police said Sunday that a widely reported case of electronic harassment was actually the work of a family member who eluded investigators, telephone engineers and a high-tech espionage team.
They refused to name the culprit and said nothing would be gained by filing charges against the person. But a Detroit television station said it had received a letter from the family admitting that their 15-year-old son was to blame.
``It started off as a joke with his friends and just got so out of hand that he didn't know how to stop it and was afraid to come forward and tell us in fear of us disowning him,'' Dwayne and Debbie Tamai said in their letter to WDIV-TV.
The electronic stalker called himself Sommy. He began haunting the Tamais' custom-built home in December, interrupting telephone conversations and appearing to turn individual electrical appliances on and off at will.
On Saturday, the Tamais said they were planning to take the youth to the local police station to defend him against persistent rumors that he was responsible. Instead, he confessed.
``All the crying I heard from him at night I thought was because of the pain he was suffering caused by Sommy,'' the letter said. ``We now realize it was him crying out for help because he wanted to end all this but was afraid because of how many people were now involved.''
The couple went on to ``apologize to the world for any pain or harm that was caused'' and also said they will seek professional help for their son.
``It was an internal family matter,'' said Sgt. Doug Babbitt of the Ontario provincial police.
Babbitt said a process of elimination led police to conclude no devices were ever planted in the home.
They also ruled out an intrusion into the Bell Canada system. Bell had rewired the two-story home several times.
``We eliminated all external sources and interior sources,'' Babbitt said.
No charges will be brought, Babbitt said, because they would "revictimize the family."
LENGTH: Medium: 51 linesby CNB