Woman admits stalking in rape ad plot
A woman accused of plotting to have another woman raped as part of larger harassment scheme targeting a Carmel Valley couple pleaded guilty Monday to a stalking charge.
Kathy Rowe, 53, of San Diego admitted the felony during a morning appearance in San Diego Superior Court. As a result of the plea, other charges filed against her, including solicitation of rape and solicitation of sodomy, were dropped.
She faces up to three years in prison at a sentencing hearing scheduled for Jan. 9, but a judge indicated she may place Rowe on probation.
According to court documents, Rowe was upset in 2011 when she was outbid for what she believed to be the perfect home for her and her family. She wrote a letter to a judge saying her anger and grief over losing the house drove her to “behave in a very childish way and to do what I thought were childish pranks to let off steam and ease the pain.”
At first, she tried to buy the house from the couple, sending them a letter offering them $100,000 above the asking price. After the couple declined, Rowe signed them up for strange catalogs, posted their address on the Internet for a fireworks giveaway and put a stop to their mail, according to court documents.
She then posted online sex ads pretending to be the new homeowner and inviting strangers over for a “Carmel Valley Freak Show.” She also posted photos of the wife and the couple’s address.
In conversations with men who replied to the ads, Rowe described a rape fantasy and encouraged the men to come over and attack her.
She was arrested in October 2012 and charged with the solicitation charges, four counts of identity theft and one count of misdemeanor harassment.
At a preliminary hearing, Superior Court Judge Runston Maino dismissed the solicitation charges, saying he didn’t believe Rowe intended for the men to actually rape the homebuyer, and reduced the identity theft charges to misdemeanors.
Prosecutors have argued in court documents that Rowe’s intent to solicit rape was clear in her emails to the men.
