Miami man charged with stalking his ex-girlfriend via fax machine

His girlfriend called police and McLaren was arrested on a charge of stalking -- via fax machine, police said.

McLaren, 40, was arrested May 2 and charged with aggravated stalking, said Pembroke Pines police Sgt. Ray Raimondi.

``He was pretty surprised when he was arrested,'' Raimondi said. It's the first case we know of where a fax machine was used to stalk.''

We're in an electronic age and people are finding new ways to harass each other, said Fort Lauderdale detective Sonya Friedman, who has investigated numerous stalking cases.

``Anything that causes substantial emotional distress and serves no legitimate purpose is considered stalking,'' Friedman said.

McLaren lived with a 39-year old Pembroke Pines woman for some time. Weeks after their relationship ended, he started sending her threatening faxes, Raimondi said.

The ex-girlfriend went to court and was granted a restraining order -- a judge's ruling preventing McLaren from contacting her.

When McLaren violated the restraining order by sending another fax, police went to his Miami home and arrested him. He told detectives he had been sending the faxes, which were filled with implied threats against his ex-girlfriend and her current boyfriend, police said.

The unemployed man was being held Thursday at the Broward County Jail.

``People who think they're being stalked should call police, file a restraining order and keep copies of everything they have been sent,'' Raimondi said. ``The messages on an answering machine, faxes, letters and even computer e-mail messages are all important to build a case.''