James David Rogers: Eva LaRue Stalking, FBI Arrest, and Sentence

The James David Rogers stalking case is the twelve-year federal prosecution of an Ohio man who sent more than three dozen threatening letters signed “Freddie Krueger” to actress Eva LaRue and her daughter, Kaya Callahan. Rogers was identified through what former FBI officials have called the first federal use of genetic genealogy, arrested in November 2019, and sentenced in September 2022 to 40 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to five federal charges.¹²

The Twelve-Year Letter Campaign

The first letters reached LaRue’s Southern California home in March 2007. LaRue, then known for her role on CSI: Miami, received handwritten and typed letters from a sender who called himself “Freddie Krueger,” after the horror film character. Many were postmarked from Youngstown, Ohio. The contents were explicit: “I am going to f**king stalk you until the day you die,” one read. Another said, “There will be no place on this earth that I … (can’t) find you. I am going to rape you.”¹

LaRue sold her home, moved to Italy for several months, and later bought a new California residence under an LLC to hide her identity. The letters kept finding her. In 2015, Rogers began writing directly to Callahan, who was about thirteen. One letter told her, “I am the man who has been stalking for (the) last 7 years. Now I have set my eye on you too.” Another said, “You look so beautiful in your pictures on google. Are you ready to be the mother of my child.” Rogers also called Callahan’s school posing as her father, which prompted staff to escort her in and out of the building each day.¹

How the FBI Identified Rogers

Investigators had pulled DNA from the envelopes for years without a match. In 2019, the FBI uploaded the profile to public genealogy databases, including 23andMe, Ancestry, and GEDmatch. Family-tree work from the relatives that surfaced pointed to James David Rogers, then living in Heath, Ohio, and working as a nurse’s assistant at an assisted living facility.¹³

Agents put Rogers under surveillance. After watching him toss a fast-food bag into a dumpster outside an Arby’s following his shift, they retrieved the bag and pulled DNA from a soda straw. It matched the profile from the envelopes. Rogers was arrested at his Heath home in November 2019. Former FBI officials have said the case was the first at the federal level to be solved with genetic genealogy.³¹

Federal Charges and Guilty Plea

The case was prosecuted in the United States District Court for the Central District of California. On April 28, 2022, Rogers pleaded guilty to five counts:⁴

Two counts of mailing threatening communications
One count of threats by interstate communications
Two counts of stalking

The stalking counts were charged under 18 U.S.C. § 2261A, the federal statute covering use of the mail or other interstate facilities to place a person in reasonable fear of death or serious bodily injury or to cause substantial emotional distress.⁵

Sentencing

On September 8, 2022, U.S. District Judge John A. Kronstadt sentenced Rogers, then 58, to 40 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release. Prosecutors had asked for 57 months, calling the conduct a “campaign of torment” and arguing that Rogers had “terrorized a mother and her daughter” from his own home. Judge Kronstadt described the conduct as “inexcusable” and ordered Rogers to self-surrender on October 12, 2022, to a federal prison in Ohio.²⁶⁴

Federal public defender Waseem Salahi argued that Rogers suffered from “psychiatric instability” and cited “repressed gender dysphoria,” asking for home confinement with mandated mental health treatment instead of prison. Judge Kronstadt rejected the request. Rogers received mental health treatment and counseling while the case was pending.⁶²

At the hearing, Rogers addressed LaRue directly: “I sincerely apologize for what I did for the last 12 years, putting you and your family through hellish behavior. I accept full responsibility. I hope you can put this behind you and at some point never think about me again.”⁷

Prior Criminal Record

Rogers had a prior conviction that predated the LaRue case. Cumberland County, North Carolina records show an adjudication date of July 14, 2008, for indecent liberties with a minor, which resulted in his registration as a sexual offender. Florida sexual offender registry records list his last reported address as Clarksville, Georgia, with a status of “Released – Subject to Registration.”⁸

Where Rogers Is Now

Rogers was released from federal prison in 2024 and remains on a three-year term of supervised release.⁷⁹

1
ABC7 Chicago. Eva LaRue Stalker Daughter CSI Miami Cast James David Rogers
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The New York Times. Eva LaRue Man Harassment Sentenced
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CNN. Eva LaRue Stalker Sentenced
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Courthouse News Service. United States v. James David Rogers Sentencing Memorandum
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Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 2261A – Stalking
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Deadline. Eva LaRue Stalker Sentenced Prison
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People. Where Is Eva LaRue Now
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Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Sexual Offender Flyer – James David Rogers
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KFI AM 640. At Sentencing Hearing for Stalker, LA Actress Tells of Years-Long Ordeal