'Servant of God' Charged with Stalking After Sending Love Letters from Jail: Prosecutor

Brett Nivinski, 52 |Cook County Sheriff

Bridgeview, IL, June 14, 2016 -- A self-described servant of God already in jail on aggravated stalking charges violated a no-contact order by sending love letters to a Bridgeview woman, prosecutors said in court.
Brett Nivinski, 52, appeared before Cook County Judge Steven Rosenblum last week after additional charges for aggravated stalking were filed.
A warrant for Nivinski’s arrest on stalking charges was issued in January, according to a Rockford TV station WREX.
Nivinski, who is from the Rockford area, has been in Cook County Jail since February, where bail has been set at $150,000.
Between May 18 to May 31, prosecutors said that Nivinski violated an order of protection by sending several letters from jail to the same Bridgeview woman after he had been told by a judge not to contact her.
During his bond hearing on June 10, Nivinsky claimed to be a victim of double jeopardy and that his constitutional rights were being violated.
Prosecutors said Nivinski was convicted of aggravated stalking in 2010 and received five years in the Illinois Department of Corrections involving the same woman.
The prosecutor and assistant public defender also debated the number of letters that Nivinski allegedly sent from jail; the state claimed it was five, both Nivinsky and his attorney purported that it was three letters.
“He has an affinity for her,” the assistant public defender told the judge. “”There was no threat of violence. They were love letters to the victim.”
Nivinski made a rambling statement about God and the Catholic Church that lasted several minutes during his bond hearing, despite efforts from the assistant public defender to get him to stop talking.
“I believe in complete transparency, I walk toward the light,” Nivinski told the judge.
He was told to be quiet by his attorney as he attempted to explain why he allegedly sent the letters.
The assistant public defender requested a psychiatric evaluation of Nivinski “for sanity.”
Bail on the new charge was set at $200,000.
Nivinski had another court hearing on Monday.