Man sentenced in Palin lawyer harassment case

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) ? Two Pennsylvania men convicted of harassing Sarah Palin's Alaska lawyers were in court for sentencing Friday.

Craig Christy, 48 was sentenced to time served, five years of probation and community service. His 20-year-old son, Shawn Christy, was expected to be sentenced later Friday in U.S. District Court in Anchorage.

The Christys, of McAdoo, Pa., pleaded guilty in January to making harassing phone calls to Palin's attorneys. Palin attorney John Tiemessen (TEE'-mess-sen) testified the men's calls threatened Palin and attorneys.

Shawn Christy was released and sent back to Pennsylvania last month after an evaluation report said he was not a danger to the public. He returned to Alaska this week for the sentencing.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Retta-Rae Randall said Craig Christy had been at a federal Bureau of Prisons medical facility, where he received a psychiatric evaluation before being returned to Alaska.

U.S. District Judge Timothy Burgess rejected binding plea deals in December that would have allowed the men to avoid jail time.

Both men faced up to two years in prison and fines of up to $250,000. Tiemessen's law firm also is seeking about $15,000 in restitution for the billable hours it says were tied up in dealing with the huge number of calls to its offices in Anchorage and Fairbanks.

Tiemessen testified earlier this year that many of the calls began last June, escalating in July and August. Besides being threatening, many were filled with profanity, he said.

"There were hundreds of calls a day," he said at the time. "The only thing that ever stopped it, frankly, was when they were taken into custody."

The Christys have been held since their arrests in Pennsylvania last August. Prosecutors say the men were upset about state restraining orders issued on behalf of former Alaska Gov. Palin, the 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate.

According to an affidavit by the FBI, Craig Christy threatened to kill Tiemessen in one obscenity-filled message, and in another message, Shawn Christy said he might have sex with Palin. The younger Christy also threatened to come to Alaska and rape one of the attorneys, according to the document.

The restraining orders were issued after Palin left office.

The order against Shawn Christy was issued in 2010 after he was accused of stalking Palin. It was renewed last year after Palin testified that Christy appeared to be sending a clear signal when he made a one-day visit to Alaska on her February birthday.

Palin also said she feared Christy's parents because of their claim that she had a sexting relationship with their son in 2009, when he was a teenager.

The order against Craig Christy was issued last year after he was accused of barraging Palin's parents with antagonizing telephone messages.

Associated Press

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