ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, November 27, 1996 TAG: 9611270049
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF WRITER
A Roanoke man who frightened scores of young girls and infuriated their parents - first by stalking schoolchildren and later by making obscene telephone calls - has received a total prison sentence of 621/2 years from three judges.
Michael A. Obremski, who was sentenced earlier to 151/2 years in Roanoke County and 16 years in Botetourt County, on Tuesday received a 31-year sentence from Roanoke Circuit Judge Clifford Weckstein.
Obremski's sentencing culminated a three-year investigation into hundreds of obscene and threatening calls that were made to girls throughout the Roanoke Valley.
Police say Obremski perused the newspaper for victims, getting the names of girls who were credited for making the honor roll or excelling in sports and calling them from a pay telephone outside his low-budget motel room on Williamson Road.
Obremski never laid a hand on any of his victims, but his sentence was harsher than what many rapists or child molesters receive.
"In spite of the seriousness [of the charges], we have to keep this in perspective," Assistant Public Defender John Varney said in asking for a six-year sentence for Obremski. Of the six girls Obremski was convicted of making obscene and threatening calls to, none has required counseling as a result, Varney said.
If Obremski had made death threats over the telephone, Varney said, he would have faced only a misdemeanor charge.
But Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney Betty Jo Anthony cited Obremski's previous record of sex offenses - as well as his admission to being the so-called Raleigh Court stalker - in asking for the maximum sentence of 45 years.
"We can see no other way to keep young girls safe except to keep him off the streets as long as possible," Anthony said.
Although Obremski did not physically harm anyone, he told a counselor that he had started to cruise around town shortly before he was arrested - an indication that he was moving closer to acting on his threats to rape or abduct the girls, Anthony said.
Probation officer Jay Newberry testified that Obremski admitted to being the Raleigh Court stalker, a man who frightened children in that part of Roanoke by following them to and from school several years ago. Stalking was not illegal at the time, so Obremski was never charged.
Because some of the calls were made before Jan. 1, 1995, when parole was abolished, Obremski will be eligible for early release on some of his charges. Of the 31 years he received in Roanoke on six charges, 21 years were with no parole, meaning he will have to serve at least 85 percent of that sentence.
Obremski - a 42-year-old former cook at upscale Roanoke restaurants, Eagle Scout and dean's list student at Memphis State University - was convicted of six felonies in Roanoke, two in Botetourt County and 10 felonies and one misdemeanor in Roanoke County.
Authorities say they could have filed many more charges; when they searched his motel room in May, police found the names and telephone numbers of 459 girls, according to Detective Tim Spence of the Roanoke Police Department.
Most of the girls received calls shortly after being mentioned in the Neighbors section of The Roanoke Times. One was called after the newspaper published a photograph of her playing in the snow last year.
Most of the victims had unusual last names that could be found easily in the telephone book. Obremski would ask for the girls by their first name, then threaten to sexually abuse or abduct them.
After Tuesday's hearing in Roanoke Circuit Court, Roanoke County Detective Jeff Herrick played a recording of one of Obremski's calls. The call did not lead to a conviction, but Herrick said authorities have confirmed it was Obremski.
The call, which authorities said was one of the least graphic, includes the following exchange:
Victim: "Hello."
Obremski: "[victim's name]?"
Victim: "Yeah?"
Obremski: "I'm going to rape you."
Victim: "Who is this?"
Obremski: "You'll find out soon enough. You're going to be so good."
At that point, the line went dead.
LENGTH: Medium: 81 linesby CNB