eFluxMedia
November 8, 2007
http://www.efluxmedia.com/news_Conan_OBriens_Priest_Stalker_Arrested_10390.html
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A Boston catholic priest has been arrested last week in New York and charged with stalking the "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" host.
The alleged stalker, Rev. David Ajemian, 46, was arrested on Friday at the Rockefeller Plaza when he tried to enter a filming session of NBC's "Late Night with Conan O'Brien," reported.
Over the past 14 months, O'Brien was flooded with threatening e-mails, postcards and aggressive letters sent by Ajemian, who now faces charges of aggravated harassment and stalking.
According to police, the priest was asked numerous times to cease contacting O'Brien, but failed to do so, and a warrant for his arrest was issued by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, officials said.
In one note to O'Brien, in which he refers to himself as "your priest stalker," Ajemian complained of being forbid to attend an earlier taping of O'Brien's show.
"I'm told by some of those officious little usher people that you're overbooked. Is this the way you treat your most dangerous fans? You owe me big-time pal. I want a public confession before I ever consider giving you absolution—or [I want] a spot on your couch," Ajemian apparently wrote. The note, dated Feb. 20, is now in the hands of the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, who also accused him of attempting to contact O'Brien's parents.
According to Barbara Thompson, a spokeswoman for the Manhattan district attorney's office, the letters bearing the "Padre" signature, were "intended to cause annoyance and alarm."
He is currently jailed and will have to undergo a court-ordered psychiatric examination before his next court hearing which is tomorrow, New York Times reported.
"As a result of his arrest, the Archdiocese has placed Fr. Ajemian on leave, and he is no longer able to exercise public ministry," the archdiocese said in a statement adding that the church officials were cooperating with New York City authorities.
"Further, during this difficult time, the Archdiocese will offer pastoral support to all parties affected," the statement wrote.
If convicted, Ajemian, who was a reverend at St. Patrick's Parish in Stoneham, Mass. from 2005 to May 2007, could face up to a year in prison.
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