RI Man Pleads Guilty To Violently Threatening MA Professor

NORTH KINGSTOWN, RI — A Rhode Island man this week pleaded guilty to sending more than two dozen violent, threatening emails to a Massachusetts professor. The emails included extreme messages including, "I will rip every limb from your body and eat it, piece by piece." Matthew Haviland, 29, of North Kingstown, is set to be sentenced Dec. 10.

On Tuesday, Haviland pleaded guilty to one count of stalking and two counts of transmitting a threat in interstate commerce. On Aug. 23, Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling announced that Haviland planned to accept a plea bargain that recommended 21 months in prison in exchange for a guilty plea. Under the terms of the agreement, Haviland is expected to have three years of supervised release following prison time and pay a fine.

On March 10, Haviland sent the professor a series of approximately 28 emails over the span of several hours threatening to kill and dismember him. The professor is an outspoken supporter of abortion rights, which was mentioned in several of the emails.

"You will be held accountable for every f------ baby you murdered through your horrible deception of they are not humans," one email read.

In another, Haviland threatened to "bite through your eyeballs while you're still alive, and I will laugh while you scream," adding in another that he would "enjoy raping your body after you’re dead."

Five days later, he sent several more emails to the professor's university containing still more violent and disturbing threats.

"You people are Evil, putrid, and somebody shoudl BOMB your school for spreading the idea that it’s okay to HATE people because of their race," said one of the emails which contained several grammatical errors.

Haviland was arrested and charged in April. Following his guilty plea, sentencing was set for Dec. 10. While the plea recommends a 21-month sentence, Haviland could be imprisoned for up to five years and ordered to pay a fine up to $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss resulting from the offense and restitution, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.