Judge bans Wisconsin man from the Internet for using neighbor’s likeness in Craigslist ads

WATERFORD, Wis., Feb. 12 (UPI) -- A Wisconsin man has been banned from the Internet and will serve 30 months of probation for using his neighbor’s likeness in Craigslist personal ads without her knowledge or consent.

Racine County Circuit Court Judge Allan Torhorst handed down the sentence after Jason Willis, 31, pleaded guilty to posting ads soliciting people to have sex with his neighbor, “Dawn.”

One of the ads resulted in a man showing up at her house wearing only a trench coat.

“He had my full name. He knew my address. And he said, ‘Oh, I got it off of Craigslist. You put an ad on there,’” Dawn said. “[Willis’] idea of a joke is much different than other peoples’ idea of a joke.”

If Willis logs on to the web, he would violate his probation and could be made to serve 18 months in prison and then be placed on 18 months of extended supervision.

“You did it for the fun of it,” Torhorst told Willis. “You were mean to your neighbor. In the worst possible way. Without any benefit. I’ve been a judge long enough to know you don’t go to jail for no good reason. You don’t single out a neighbor. It’s unconscionable.”

Willis now has 30 days to cancel his Internet service.

“If you want to drive drunk, you’re not allowed to drive,” Torhorst told TMJ4. “To me, a public availability of the Internet -- to use it the way he did -- is unconscionable. Everybody knows it’s wrong. He knew it was wrong. He admitted it.”

[The Journal Times] [TMJ4]