Mel meets his stalker
2005-03-04 14:01
Los Angeles - Mel Gibson on Thursday came face-to-face with his accused stalker in a California courtroom, telling a jury that the over-zealous fan had frightened his family.
The Passion of the Christ filmmaker and Lethal Weapon star testified at the trial of Zack Sinclair, a 34-year-old drifter who prosecutors say was bent on a mission from God to pray with the devoutly Catholic Gibson.
The Australian-US film star told a jury in Los Angeles that he had been troubled by uninvited visitors to his estate in the past, but said: "My wife was more concerned this time than any time before."
He said he appeared in court to give evidence "because this young man, Zack Sinclair, doesn't appear to know his boundaries".
Sinclair approached the actor while he was attending a church service at the Holy Family Chapel near the star's home in the plush Los Angeles area of Malibu on September 19 last year.
"He was pretty close," the actor said of Sinclair.
Although Sinclair "wasn't scary or threatening", Gibson said it was "odd" that the young man seemed to have a lack of respect for personal boundaries and did not seem to know that he was not welcome.
Gibson said the incident, which followed several appearances at the gates outside his property, "showed unusual persistence" that worried his wife, Robyn.
On a mission
"She didn't want to find him sitting in the living room drinking tea," he said explaining why he sought a restraining order against Sinclair.
Prosecutor Debra Archuleta told jurors at the start of the trial on Wednesday that Sinclair believed he was on a "mission" from God to talk and pray with Gibson.
"I think you need some help," Gibson told Sinclair. "But, you know, he worries my wife and other people around me and my family," he told the court.
Sinclair, who is defending himself, declined to exercise his right to cross-examine the actor, saving the star from the awkward experience of having to talk to the man he has fought to keep away from him.
Sinclair allegedly sent a dozen letters - many containing religious references - to Gibson, and showed up at the actor's church once, and at his estate at least four times, last year.
Gibson put on a pair of spectacles when the prosecutor asked him to review and read passages from the letters allegedly sent to him by Sinclair.
About halfway through the letters, Gibson said, "Is it necessary for me to read these?" Archuleta then just asked him to identify certain passages, including biblical references, in the remaining letters.
Sinclair became emotional and teary-eyed during that part of the testimony, but remained silent.
Gibson, who was on the stand for just under an hour, said he has since made minor security modifications to his property.
- AFP