Man convicted of continually stalking woman gets prison

KALISPELL (AP) — A Bigfork man has been sentenced to four years in prison for felony stalking, including cutting off a GPS monitor and traveling to Colorado where he was arrested within a mile of the woman’s house.

District Judge David Ortley sentenced Severin Gislason on Nov. 15 to 15 years in prison with 11 years suspended.

Ortley required Gislason, 21, to complete substance abuse and cognitive behavioral treatment before becoming eligible for parole. He must also pay restitution for the victim’s therapy and for an earlier burglary conviction.

Gislason was on probation following the 2014 burglary conviction and was ordered by a court in September 2014 not to contact the woman, but continued to text her and used a phone app to disguise his number, prosecutors said.

He was charged with felony stalking in 2015 and was released from jail with a GPS monitor. He cut the monitoring bracelet off at the Kalispell airport and took a bus to Colorado, prosecutors said. After his arrest, Gislason asked corrections officers if he could call his father, but used the phone to call and harass the woman, prosecutors said.

Gislason acted as his own attorney to confront the woman during his trial, prosecutors said. He had a loud outburst in court and was removed by police officers before pleading guilty.

“Severin Gislason is hands-down the most manipulative defendant I’ve ever prosecuted,” said Deputy Flathead County Attorney Alison Howard, who sought a 35-year prison sentence.

Public defender Jessica Polan and Gislason’s family asked Ortley to take into consideration that mental health professionals believe Gislason could do well with treatment for addiction and a personality disorder.