Finally, Some Justice for the Young & Restless Alum Tormented for More Than a Decade By a Stalker
“We didn’t know if he would show up on our doorsteps… “
It was a long time in coming, but perhaps the ruling handed down in a Los Angeles courtroom September 8 will help soap vet Eva LaRue and her daughter, Kaya, sleep somewhat easier. Because at last, the man who made their lives a living hell for 12 years was sentenced to 40 months behind bars.
According to our sister site Deadline, James David Rogers, 58, received the sentence from U.S. District Judge John A. Kronstadt, having earlier plead guilty to two counts of having mailed “threatening communications,” two counts of stalking and one count of “threats by interstate communications.”
From March 2007 up until June of 2015, the man mailed nearly 40 different letters in which he made the vilest of threats against LaRue — best known to daytime fans for her stint as All My Children‘s Maria — and her daughter. The missives, whether handwritten or typed, were signed “Freddie Kruger,” an appropriate reference given that, like the legendary killer featured in the Nightmare on Elm Street movies, Rogers’ actions no doubt struck terror into the hearts of his victims.
But the man did not stop there. As late as 2019, Rogers was calling the school Kaya attended in order to leave extremely disturbing and violent messages.
Kaya is descended from soap royalty, being the daughter of La Rue and the late John Callahan (Edmund, All My Children).
Credit: Shelly Doss/JPI
In a victim impact statement to the court, La Rue said that she and her daughter never had an in-person encounter with their stalker. That did not, however, lessen the fear his actions instilled in them. “We didn’t know if he would show up on our doorstep,” she recounted. “We will think about him for a lifetime. The fear is with me forever.”
Rogers was ordered to self-surrender and begin his sentence on October 12.
La Rue was most recently seen on daytime as Young & Restless‘ Celeste, a stint for which she won the 2020 Outstanding Guest Performer in a Daytime Series Emmy.
