'Vampyre' jailed after allegedly harassing teen

[February 05, 2009]  ROCHESTER, Minn. (AP) -- A self-described "vampyre" and former fringe political candidate faces charges for threatening a teenage girl who tried to break off their relationship by telling him she was actually a vampire hunter.

John Alfred Sharkey, 44, of Toms River, N.J., was held in the Olmsted County jail Wednesday in lieu of $125,000 bail. He was charged last summer, but didn't appear in court until last month after he was arrested on a warrant.

Sharkey, who calls himself the "The Impaler," ran as the Vampyres, Witches and Pagans party candidate for Minnesota governor in 2006, when he listed Princeton, Minn., as his address.

The criminal complaint says he was running for president in 2007 when the 16-year-old Rochester girl wrote a message of support on his MySpace page. She told police they began dating online, and the threats began when she tried to break off the relationship.

She told police that "in a desperate attempt" to get him to leave her alone, she had e-mailed him that she was a member of an elite vampire hunter society and that continuing their relationship would put him in danger. Her father told police he talked to Sharkey, but Sharkey continued to call the girl and write letters to her parents.

He was charged with felony harassment and two misdemeanors: coercion with a threat to inflict bodily harm and coercion with a threat to expose a secret or disgrace.

Sharkey's public defender, Rick Smith, has asked that the charges be dismissed for lack of probable cause.

Sharkey was supposed to appear in court here in August, but got a delay by saying he had been hurt in a pro wrestling match. He then missed a September hearing and a warrant was issued.

The complaint says Sharkey told a Rochester police sergeant who called him last August that he was a vampire "who needs to drink human blood for strength." It says he referred to the Rochester girl as his wife and princess. Last August he also wrote a letter threatening to sue the county attorney's office for wrongful and vindictive prosecution.

___

Information from: Post-Bulletin, http://www.postbulletin.com/

[Associated Press]

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.