Man arrested for stalking, harassing ex, breaking into her house

Posted: Friday, February 14, 2014 

There is love. There is obsession. Then there is Robert Linn, police say.

The 36-year-old Philadelphia man allegedly waged an 11-month-long stalking and harassment campaign against his ex-girlfriend and mother of his daughter that included posing as the woman on an Internet dating site and sending strangers to her house with the promise of sex.

In April 2013, the woman told police she had been receiving harassing text messages from an unidentified cell phone user, police said. She turned her phone over to police as part of the investigation, but Linn, who was living with her at her Falls home, did not turn over his phone, though he claimed he also received text messages from the same person, police said.

Robert Linn

In addition to the calls, the woman was receiving harassing emails and Facebook postings. She also told police a notebook containing her electronic passwords was missing from her home.

In May, the couple separated, police said.

Since then, the woman told police she has received visits from men who claim they met her on a dating site and that she promised to have sex with them. She also told police she has been locked out of her social media and email accounts after the passwords were changed.

Last week, she lost power during the ice storm and took herself and her children to stay with a relative. Her uncle checked on her home and found a TV missing as well as several photos. The woman called police.

Falls police investigated and found four TVs had been piled into a bathtub and soaked with water. Photos of the woman and her two daughters were found face up and pinned to a bed using kitchen knives, police said. The photos had been damaged with cut marks on the girls' necks and woman's face, police said.

Police, who also noted damaged furniture, found evidence that someone had broken a rear window in an attempt to make it look like a break in.

On Tuesday, police obtained a search warrant for Linn’s Philadelphia apartment. Police said Linn made statements regarding his “guilt” in the ongoing harassment and stalking of his ex.

“He stated that we would find evidence on his cellular phone, that she was never in any danger and he never intended on hurting her, just scaring her,” according to the affidavit.

Linn admitted to staging the burglary and stabbing the photos, police said.

Police said he told them he was glad he was caught and that he started sending her harassing text messages because he wanted to know if she had been unfaithful to him.

“It was finally over,” he said, according to the affidavit.

Linn was arraigned Wednesday on burglary, stalking, harassment and related charges. He was sent to Bucks County prison in lieu of 10 percent of $200,000. As part of his bail conditions he also can have no contact with the woman, her children and cannot use cell phones or computers.

Jo Ciavaglia: 215-949-4181; email: jciavaglia@calkins.com; Twitter: @jociavaglia