Gwinnett Man Convicted Of Aggravated Stalking

LAWRENCEVILLE, GA — A Gwinnett County man has been convicted of aggravated stalking for harassing his ex-wife with emails and texts after making "violent contact" with her.

Gregory Rutledge, Jr., 47, was convicted of the crime on Thursday.

The victim, who is the mother of Rutledge's child, filed for a restraining order against him on May 4, 2015.

That was after he had a violent interaction with her that was recorded on video surveillance.

According to the restraining order, Rutledge was to have no contact with the woman. But, according to evidence and testimony presented at trial, he sent her emails in July 2015 that were not related to their child or visitation.

He also set her harassing text messages. One contained an emoji of a ghost and, in another, he wrote the statement "Freedom comes through me. Therefore, do right by me."

Rutledge fired his attorney on the morning of jury selection and represented himself at trial. The jury took less than an hour to come back with its guilty verdict.

Judge R. Timothy Hamil sentenced Rutledge to 10 years, with the first nine to be served in confinement.

Photo courtesy Gwinnett County Sheriff's Office