Lake Forest Man Harassed Officials With Hundreds Of Emails: Cops

LAKE FOREST, IL — A Lake Forest man has been accused of harassing city and county officials by sending hundreds of emails over recent months. Police described his messages as deranged, derogatory rants and said he refused to cease the offending communication when asked.

Jay R. Schloemer, 48, of the 1300 block of North Western Avenue, was arrested on April 11 and charged with electronic harassment. Police said he sent more than 450 emails to various public employees over the past six months.

According to police, the mass emails were sent to large numbers of city staff, elected officials, members of the Lake County judicial systems.

The lengthy missives contained allegations that certain officers were child molesters, as well as allegations of sexual misconduct against employees Lake Forest Hospital, police said.

"Part of it was the nature of the content of the emails," said Deputy Chief Rob Copeland. "Part of it was the repeated bombarding of all these people with all these emails after we repeatedly told him, 'You're harassing people through electronic means.' And it would stop for a little while and then he'd pick it back up again."

Police said they had been regularly called to Schloemer's address for neighbor disputes and disturbances. Sometimes, he would call the cops for what police described as nonsensical reasons. Other times his shouting would lead other neighbors to call the authorities.

"We tried to put a stop to it, he just wouldn't voluntarily stop," Copeland said. "You gotta draw the line somewhere. And we finally drew the line, and he stepped right over it."

Lake County prosecutors issued a warrant Schloemer's arrest on a charge of electronic harassment after Lake Forest detectives submitted evidence of the emails. Police hoped he would receive a court-ordered mental health evaluation.

According to court records, Schloemer pleaded not guilty on April 13. He has been released on a $10,000 personal recognizance bond and is due back in court on April 26.