Stalked in God’s Name: A Warning to Other Women!

Hello there, my name is L., and last year in February I worked for Dave & Buster’s in California. I worked at the prize counter making $17/hr. I was approached by Ernie, his 7-year-old son, and one of his many wives—Jennifer, I believe her name was. He was very charming and nice to me and just asked me questions about my day and how I liked working there. I told him I was trying to save up and move out on my own because I was 19 turning 20 that year. He said he worked for the church and was Christian and was in charge of sending people on paid missions all over the world. I was super interested and asked how much it would pay.

The first red flag was that he said, “You’d be well off. There’s no paycheck, but I assure you that you will be well off.” I didn’t know what to say other than, “Okay, that sounds good.” He also stated during this conversation that I couldn’t have a boyfriend whatsoever and I would HAVE to get my tattoo removed. I gave him my phone number, and he said after I’m off work at Dave & Buster’s to come to his office for my interview.

When I showed up to the “office,” it was actually his house. I was greeted by four women, Ernie, and his son. We sat on the couch and talked for a little bit, exchanging small talk. He changed the subject and immediately told me about his dreams. He said he dreamt about me and said, “I had a dream that I was in an amusement park, and there’s a line of people going on this scary rollercoaster. On this rollercoaster, you die at the end, but no one knows that. I see this beautiful girl handing fruits out. She doesn’t get upset if someone says no but gets very happy when someone says yes. I turned and asked the angel in my dream who she was, and the angel said, ‘That’s Holy Sprite.’”

He claimed I was Holy Sprite and I had a special gift from God to help turn people to God. He then got into the more disturbing details of what this “job” would entail. He first asked me if I had a boyfriend, which I didn’t—I’m a lesbian (there’s a reason why I’m stating this and didn’t tell him I was)—and I said no. He told me that the other women there were his wives: Becky (the OG), Jen, don’t remember, and Laura. He stated that when he met Laura, she was a lesbian and he converted her, and that their 7-year-old son was a blessing from God to show Laura that being gay is bad.

Ernie also stated that I would have to share a bed with him and/or his wives and that I’d have to not wear bras and walk around naked (which they do in front of their 7-year-old child). At this point, I’m extremely freaked out and want out but can’t find a way out. They forced me to have dinner, and before I left, Ernie told me verbatim, “Do NOT tell your parents about this. They don’t need to know. You’re a grown woman. They will get in the way of all this.”

After this whole night, I was freaked out and wanted nothing to do with this man nor his wives. He kept repeatedly calling my number and would show up to my work, and his wives would try to talk to me, telling me I was wrong for ignoring them and I hurt Ernie really bad. I blocked all of them at this point. They didn’t stop though. They kept showing up, and every time I saw them, I’d go in the back to the break room and wait for a coworker to use the walkie-talkie to tell me they’re gone. Each and every time, Ernie and his wives would ask about me.

I unblocked Ernie and told him to stop contacting me and to please stop asking my coworkers about me. I told all my managers about what was going on, and they said anytime he shows up, have someone cover me. Well, the next day after that text, Ernie came into Dave & Buster’s and was threatening to sue if I wasn’t fired because I said he was banned (which I never said). He showed up with false call logs, falsified prints of text messages, and more. My managers pulled me aside and told me all of this and told me I could get fired for saying he was banned. I showed them the text message I sent and let them read the full text conversation. My manager said, “Your texts are a lot different from his. None of his even made sense. You can tell he clearly deleted stuff.”

After work, I called my mom crying because I felt harassed. My mom found your website, and we found the protection orders and sent them to Dave & Buster’s, letting them know that this isn’t the first woman he’s harassed, along with your guys’ website. I had to quit Dave & Buster’s a week later due to his harassment.

I know this is long, but I wanted to share my story with you guys, and if there’s anything I can do to help stop this man from sexually exploiting women, I will gladly help. Thank you for reading.