The Ohio man accused of stalking Oscar-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow was acquitted Wednesday afternoon of all charges.
Not only did the jury refuse to convict Dante Soiu of anything, despite Miss Paltrow’s claims that she had been scared to death, it also declined to order him committed for psychiatric evaluation.
Authorities said Mr. Soiu had sent 66 letters plus pornography and more-conventional presents such as earrings and a cookbook over the years. They said he also had threatened to “cut out sin” from her body with a knife.
“I felt very upset by it. It defied logic, and I found it very, very upsetting,” Miss Paltrow testified. “This was something I had been through a very long and traumatic experience with already.”
Mr. Soiu was found not guilty by reason of insanity on similar charges in 2000 and committed to a mental hospital at the time.
At the current trial, Mr. Soiu testified that he was a changed man since then and had only tried to contact Miss Paltrow in recent years, and never physically traveled to her, to make amends for his earlier sins and to minister to her.
“I have no desire to hurt her feelings,” Mr. Soiu testified. “I have no desire to harass her.”
• Victor Morton can be reached at vmorton@washingtontimes.com.
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