Va. woman found guilty of harassing convicted sex offender

The following article could just as easily be titled, “After 18 years, man still harassed for being on the registry”. It reports on a woman who was found guilty and charged $1500 for harassing a registrant. The victim of the harassment was on the registry for a 1997 sexual battery charge. The woman and the registrant formerly lived in the same apartment complex.

FRONT ROYAL, Va. (AP) – A Front Royal woman faces a $1,500 fine after being found guilty of harassing a convicted sex offender.

A Warren County Circuit Court jury convicted 61-year-old Delores Ann Harris on a charge of misusing information from Virginia’s sex offender registry on Friday.

Harris tells The Northern Virginia Daily (http://bit.ly/1x7YC2k ) that she will appeal to the Virginia Court of Appeals. She had appealed an earlier conviction in general district court to circuit court.

She was accused of harassing 43-year-old Scott Costello. Costello has been on the sex offender registry since 1997 following a conviction on an aggravated sexual battery charge.

Harris testified during the trial that she only wanted to protect her granddaughter and herself. She and Costello formerly lived in the same apartment building.

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