Man found guilty of stalking gymnast Shawn Johnson
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Former Olympian and Dancing With The Stars winner Shawn Johnson testified in court in the case.
By Tony Gutierrez, AP
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A judge found a Florida man guilty of stalking Olympic gold medalist Shawn Johnson on Friday and later determined he was legally insane at the time of the crime.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor found Robert O'Ryan guilty of felony stalking and burglary charges and two misdemeanor concealed weapons violations. The verdict came after four days of testimony and evidence.

Pastor, considering the evaluations of two psychiatrists, ruled that O'Ryan was legally insane at the time of his arrest last March. He likely will serve his sentence in a state mental hospital after a court-ordered evaluation.


O'Ryan did not react to Pastor's verdict. Johnson was not present.

"It's the right result," prosecutor Wendy Segall said after the verdict.

Segall argued that O'Ryan harbored a dangerous obsession to meet and marry Johnson, who won an Olympic gold medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He was arrested last March on a studio lot where Johnson was performing on ABC's "Dancing with the Stars."


Johnson testified on Thursday that she was scared of O'Ryan, whom she had never met. She said she considered quitting "Dancing with the Stars" and moving back to Iowa, but she remained on the show and got a bodyguard. She won her season of the show.

O'Ryan's attorney, Judith Greenberg, argued that O'Ryan didn't have any criminal intent and did not plan to harm Johnson.

"It was clearly an insanity case from the beginning," Greenberg said after Pastor's rulings. "Insanity is a crude weapon for the defense. Perhaps the case shouldn't be in the system."

She said the process has "a very negative consequence" for many defendants. Throughout the trial, she spoke about how O'Ryan was a well-educated engineer who lost his job as he succumbed to schizophrenia.


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