Sturtevant Village President sentenced in stalking case

STURTEVANT (WITI) -- Sturtevant Village President Steve Jansen on Tuesday, July 9th was sentenced to 18 months of probation after he was accused of stalking an ex-girlfriend for over a year.

Jansen was charged with one felony count of criminal stalking.

Jansen is accused of sending emails, text messages, threatening suicide and following his ex-girlfriend for over a year - and the criminal complaint in the case says Jansen repeatedly ignored the woman's and police chief's requests to leave her alone.

The criminal complaint in the case says the victim had a relationship with 52-year-old Jansen until January of 2011. The victim said when she had previously tried to break up with Jansen, he would act as if he was thinking about suicide and ending his life, according to the complaint. The victim told Jansen she would no longer respond to his suicide threats and broke up with him, after which she began to receive text messages and emails several times a day and voicemails on her phone.

Jansen has been the President of Sturtevant since 2003 after serving three terms on the Village Board as a trustee.