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CRIME

Woman, 71, jailed for stalking priest

An elderly woman was jailed for 14 months on Thursday for stalking a Catholic priest for more than 13 years. She stripped naked and danced in front of him on more than one occasion, the court heard.

Woman, 71, jailed for stalking priest
The stalker, 71, in court. Photo: DPA

The 71-year-old woman hassled the priest for over a decade with letters, emails, text messages and phone calls declaring her undying love, she confessed to the court on Thursday through her lawyer.

Nearly every day the woman decorated the priest's front garden in the Sauerland region, North-Rhine Westphalia, with roses, love letters and condoms, wrote the Westdeutsche Algemeine Zeitung (WAZ).

When asked how she had met him, the woman said: "I met him by chance in the year 2000. It hit me like a bolt of lightning. I didn't know that he was the priest."

The woman's full confession meant the court was concerned with whether prison or psychiatric care would be the more appropriate course of action.

After hearing testimonies from expert witnesses, the court in Meschede, North Rhine-Westphalia, sentenced the woman to one year and two months in prison.

SEE ALSO: Germany nabs cocaine condoms bound for Vatican

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BUSINESS

Elon Musk visits Tesla’s sabotage-hit German factory

Elon Musk travelled Wednesday to Tesla's factory near Berlin to lend his workers "support" after the plant was forced to halt production by a suspected arson attack on nearby power lines.

Elon Musk visits Tesla's sabotage-hit German factory

The Tesla CEO addressed thousands of employees on arrival at the site, accusing “eco-terrorists” of the sabotage as he defended his company’s green credentials.

With his son X AE A-XII in his arms, Musk said: “I am here to support you.”

The billionaire’s visit came a week after power lines supplying the electric carmaker’s only European plant were set on fire in an act of sabotage claimed by a far-left group called the Vulkangruppe (Volcano Group).

READ ALSO: Far-left group claims ‘sabotage’ on Tesla’s German factory

Musk had said then that the attack was “extremely dumb”, while the company said it would cost it several hundred million euros.

A week on, the lights have come back on at the site, but Andre Thierig, who heads the site, said on LinkedIn that it would “take a bit of time” before production is back to full speed.

Industry experts have warned that the reputational impact caused by the sabotage on the region could be more severe than the losses suffered by Tesla.

Tesla’s German plant started production in 2022 following an arduous two-year approval and construction process dogged by administrative and legal obstacles.

Tesla wants to expand the site by 170 hectares and boost production up to one million vehicles annually to feed Europe’s growing demand for electric cars and take on rivals who are shifting away from combustion engine vehicles.

But the plans have annoyed local residents, who voted against the project in a non-binding ballot last month.

After the vote, Tesla said it might have to rethink the plans. Environmental activists opposed to the expansion of the factory have recently also set up a camp in a wooded area near the plant.

READ ALSO: Why is Tesla’s expansion near Berlin so controversial?

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