Alleged Aniston Stalker Part of Growing Trend?
A court has issued a temporary restraining order to Jennifer Aniston against a man authorities say traveled cross-country in a delusional attempt to marry her.
Court documents filed in Santa Monica, Calif. say police detained Jason R. Peyton last week after finding him with a sharp object, duct tape and love notes to the "Friends" star. Authorities say he was stopped after spending days trying to find Aniston on Sunset Boulevard, and that he told them Aniston "communicated to me mentally ... and she wants me to be the father of her children."
Celebrity Stalkers
Jennifer Aniston
The documents say Peyton has been accused of stalking others and is disobeying court orders that he must take anti-psychotic medications. He's been placed in involuntary psychiatric hold by Los Angeles police.
"Jennifer Aniston said there's been ever-increasing harassment from Payton to her, whereas she fears for her personal safety and those around her," Leslie Bruce, of The Hollywood Reporter told CBS News.
Aniston has been in London, promoting her new perfume and has never met Peyton, reports "Early Show" national correspondent Hattie Kauffman.
If the charges are proven, Peyton would be just the latest in fast-growing number of stalkers of celebrities, experts say.
Several stalkers of celebrities have made headlines recently, Kauffman points out. Sandra Bullock needed a restraining order twice to dissuade a stalker. Keira Knightley reportedly has had six stalkers. Olympic gold medalist Shawn Johnson's stalker also drove across the country, and was found with duct tape a gun.
During a recent one-year period, 3.4 million people age 18 or older in the United States were stalked, according to the National Center for Victims of Crime.
And on "The Early Show" Thursday, San Diego County Deputy District Attorney Rachel Solov, who chairs the county's Stalking Strike Force, called those numbers "the tip of the iceberg."
She told co-anchor Harry Smith stalking is an "old behavior" that's "been around for years and year and years, but has "only fairly recently become a crime. And so, we're just starting to get the right responses in place and people are just starting to report it accurately. So, actually, that number is probably lower than what is really out there.
"There really is no typical stalker," Solov continued. "We have seen stalkers in all shapes and sizes from all different backgrounds and demographics. There's also different dynamics whether you're talking about a celebrity stalker, as in the Jennifer Aniston case, or if you're talking about a stalker which is more common, which is someone that knows their stalker, that has come out of a relationship or something like that" - the rejected-suitor syndrome.
Solov told Smith restraining orders in and of themselves are controversial, sometimes, in some ways, making such situations worse. And she offered tips for people who think they're being stalked.
To see the full interview, click on the video below: