Palin stalker to plead guilty, leave state

ANCHORAGE — A Pennsylvania man jailed for repeatedly calling and threatening attorneys who helped Sarah Palin get a restraining order against him has agreed to plead guilty to making harassing telephone calls.

According to a document Shawn Christy signed and which was entered into the federal court record, Christy will admit he made a string of phone calls to the Fairbanks law firm of Clapp, Peterson, Tiemessen, Thorsness, Johnson LLC.

He filled voicemail boxes for numerous employees as well as leaving messages on home and cellphone numbers.

“The defendant also violated the 6-month protective order issued in (Alaska state court) by posting on the Facebook page of Sarah Palin,” according to his plea agreement.

His father, Craig Christy got in on the act, winding up with is own set of federal charges. The elder Christy’s case has not reached the stage of his son’s case.

According to the plea agreement, Shawn Christy will formally plead guilty and receive his sentence Dec. 1. After that, he wants to go back home.

“The parties anticipate Mr. Christy’s release from pre-trial detention after sentencing and agree that he should immediately return to Pennsylvania,” according to a document his attorney, Mary Geddes, filed Tuesday.

Geddes was seeking to have the U.S. Marshall’s service pay for the flight, something it’s allowed to do for people ordered to travel as part of their probation who lack the means to pay for the flight themselves.

Other terms of Christy’s agreement include that he will not “possess a firearm, destructive device or other weapon,” and that he “shall not use or possess a computer or cellular telephone with access to any on-line service at any time without prior approval form the probation officer.”

The agreement also proscribes a list of people in Alaska that Christy can communicate with, including the judge and lawyers in his ongoing state court case.

“The defendant shall not communicate in any manner with any other individual in the State of Alaska, other than defense counsel, without permission of the court,” the agreement states.

As for sentencing, the maximum is two years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Prosecutors didn’t make any recommendations in the publicly available documents.

“This agreement reflects the seriousness of the offense and promotes respect for the law as well as providing the defendant with needed vocational training and mental health and medical treatment,” according to the agreement.

State court cases filed against Christy have all apparently reached conclusions, according to court records.