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Man Busted for 17,000 Lewd Phone Calls

By Deanne Katz, Esq. on January 15, 2013 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

After 17,000 lewd phone calls, the law has finally caught up with Robert Glass. The women of Pennsylvania will now be safe from harassing phone calls, at least from this guy.

Glass, a 51-year old resident of Myerstown, Pennsylvania, was arraigned last week and charged with multiple counts of harassment and stalking. So far at least 30 women have been identified as victims of unwanted phone calls from Glass.

Silly prank calls are one thing, but Glass did more than just ask if the refrigerator was running. He took things way too far when he picked up the phone.

Robert Glass allegedly called women at home and asked for them by name. Once the woman he was targeting got on the line, he would make lewd sexual comments.

These women inevitably hung up on him, but he would repeatedly call back. Some women had to deal with this for several days, reports ABC News.

Finding out the names of these women is creepy, especially since these women didn't know Glass. That's where prank calls become criminal activity.

While state laws differ, most define criminal harassment as intentionally targeting someone with behavior meant to alarm, annoy, or torment.

Even if he'd only called once, the fact that Glass mentioned women by name and made inappropriate sexual comments made it more likely the charge would be harassment. Calling multiple times just reinforced it.

That's likely also what led to the stalking charge. Legally, stalking is considered a pattern of conduct that causes the victim to fear for her safety. (Incidentally, January is National Stalking Awareness Month.)

Making actual threats can count as stalking, but there are other ways to intimidate a person. Prosecutors are betting than calling a woman and using her name when she doesn't know you will qualify.

Police reportedly tracked down Glass after realizing the calls were all coming from a certain tanning salon. A call to the salon led them to Glass.

But he won't be getting his hands on a phone anytime soon. Glass is currently being held in jail on $25,000 bail.

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