ROYAL OAK, Mich. – A Royal Oak woman who moved to Michigan and concealed her identity from a stalker for 14 years said he contacted her and threatened to find and sexually assault her, according to police.
The woman said she began receiving phone calls in 2001, while living in Indiana, from Steven Craig Mason, 42, of Anderson, Indiana.
Recommended Videos
At the time, several neighbors told the woman they had seen a man sitting in multiple different vehicles outside her apartment complex, according to authorities.
Police said they were not initially able to identify Mason.
The woman said Mason continued to call her when she moved to Michigan in 2004. She tried to conceal her identity, and the phone calls stoped until December 2018, the woman said.
She received a phone call in December from an unknown caller using a blocked number, police said. During the call, the woman recognized Mason's voice as he threatened to find and sexually assault her, authorities said.
Mason said he had spent several years trying to locate her, the woman told police.
Royal Oak detectives tracked Mason to his home in Anderson. Anderson police obtained a search warrant for the home and spoke with Mason.
He admitted to stalking the Royal Oak woman and thousands of other women, according to authorities. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security took possession of his computer to try to identify other victims, police said.
"Royal Oak detectives did an outstanding job with this case," Royal Oak police Chief Corrigan O'Donohue said. "This victim and potentially many others have been living in a state of constant fear. We are glad, after all these years, to give this young woman some peace."
Officials said Mason lives with his mother in the home. She told police she is terrified of her son and fully cooperated with the investigation, according to authorities.
Mason was arraigned Tuesday in 44th District Court after being extradited from Indiana. He is charged with one count of aggravated stalking, a felony that carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
His criminal history includes a drunken driving conviction in Indiana, according to records.