Man convicted of stalking TV news anchor
NORRISTOWN » An NBC10 television news anchor told a judge she became “scared” when packages of lingerie, pornography and letters expressing romantic feelings for her were delivered from an unknown person to her Lower Merion home.
“I always felt very safe in my home. That was my sanctuary. I always felt very secure and very safe. That’s completely gone now,” Tracy Davidson testified in Montgomery County Court on Wednesday. “I was scared. Every time I received one I hoped it would stop.”
After a one-day, non-jury trial, Judge Steven T. O’Neill convicted David E. Silvan, 42, of Philadelphia, of multiple misdemeanor charges of harassment and stalking, finding he annoyed and alarmed the popular morning news anchor by sending her
lewd, lascivious or threatening materials on multiple occasions between October 2017 and January 2019.
“The court finds overwhelming circumstantial evidence as to each of the counts,” O’Neill said as he rendered the verdict.
Silvan, of the 700 block of West 64th Street, did not react to the verdict.
The judge permitted Silvan to remain free on bail pending a sentencing hearing later this year. However, the judge placed additional bail restrictions on Silvan, ordering him to have no communication “in any form or manner” with Davidson and to stay away from her Ardmore home.
O’Neill ordered that Silvan undergo psychosexual and psychiatric evaluations in preparation for the sentencing hearing.
“We intend on seeking a very lengthy supervision term for the defendant. It’s clear through his conduct over an almost two-year period that he does need extensive supervision by the court,” county Assistant District Attorney Bridget Gallagher said after the trial. Davidson, who began at the station in 1996 and worked as an anchor and consumer reporter, did not know Silvan and did not have any previous contact with him, prosecutors said. “It was clear throughout the trial that his conduct, although he may not have personally come face-toface with the victim, clearly put her in a position where she absolutely feared for her safety,” Gallagher said. “A person should ultimately feel safest in their own home and it got to the point over a twoyear period where the victim felt unsafe in her home.” Silvan, who was represented by defense lawyer Christopher Bagnato, did not testify during the trial. Bagnato argued prosecutors didn’t have “real, pure and direct evidence” to link Silvan to the delivery of the items and that someone else could have sent them in Silvan’s name.
But Gallagher showed the judge legal documents containing Silvan’s handwriting, which matched the handwriting on the packages and letters sent to Davidson.
“This is not a coincidence. This defendant harassed Tracy Davidson,” Gallagher argued.
Testimony revealed the first packages were delivered to Davidson’s residence, addressed to “Misty D,” between Oct. 10 and Oct. 16, 2017, and they contained several pornographic DVDs, women’s lingerie and other items from Adam and Eve, an online adult store. Silvan’s address was listed as the billing address, according to testimony and court papers.
“This had never happened to me. I didn’t really know what to do. I was just scared,” Davidson testified, adding she notified her supervisors at NBC10 and later Lower Merion police.
Prosecutors alleged investigators met with Silvan and made it clear to him he was not to contact Davidson.
However, between late 2018 and early 2019, Silvan delivered several unwanted handwritten letters to Davidson’s residence, some mailed through the postal service and others apparently hand-delivered with no postmark. The letters, according to court papers, were addressed again to “Misty D” and signed with only the letter “D.”
Davidson remained calm as she read some of the disturbing passages contained in the letters.
“The letter expressed having romantic feelings toward Davidson and wanting to initiate an amorous relationship,” wrote Lower Merion Police Officer Michael Stieber, referring to one letter in the arrest affidavit.
“I always felt very safe in my home. That was my sanctuary. I always felt very secure and very safe. That’s completely gone now.”
- Tracy Davidson
In another letter, Silvan wrote, “Gosh, you looked smashing Thursday morning. That red dress … Wow,” testimony revealed. Investigators also linked Silvan to a letter offering to perform landscaping services for Davidson. Stieber testified he went to Silvan’s residence in February 2019 and while there showed the letters to Silvan’s mother. “She immediately said, ‘Yup, that’s David’s handwriting’,” Stieber claimed. But when she testified on Wednesday Silvan’s mother claimed she wasn’t certain that the handwriting in the letters matched that of her son’s. She also testified Silvan, at 24, was injured in a serious motorcycle crash, suffered a brain injury and is hearing impaired.