VIC: Man in court over death threat to tennis star

AAP General News (Australia)
08-30-1999
VIC: Man in court over death threat to tennis star

EDS: ATTENTION DRAWN TO LANGUAGE IN SECOND PARAGRAPH



By Catherine Chisholm

MELBOURNE, Aug 30 AAP - American tennis star Chanda Rubin considered pulling out of the
Australian Tennis Open after she received a death threat from an on-site e-mail service, a
Melbourne court heard today.

The black American player, now 23, was told about the e-mail which read: "You fucking
nigger, I'm going to assassinate you on the court."

Peter Sam Stipsianos, 17, of Clifton Street, South Oakleigh, a year 12 student, was at the
tennis on January 22 this year when he sent the e-mail.

He used the IBM Internet site set up so that the public could send messages to international
tennis players, Melbourne Magistrates Court was told.

Senior Constable Peter Shelton said Stipsianos went to the tennis with friends and after
watching Anna Kournikova and Martina Hingis play, he went to the Internet site.

He sent messages to Australian players Wayne Arthurs and Peter Tramacchi and then wrote to
Ms Rubin.

All messages were screened on site and IBM staff discovered the message.

Ms Rubin was told of the death threat and considered not playing, Snr Const Shelton said.

"After some consideration she decided to play her match, however with some apprehension as
a result of the threat," he said.

When he was arrested, Stipsianos told police he did not know why he did it, he just typed
it in.

Kimani Boden, defending, said there was no suggestion this was a racially-motivated act.

He said Stipsianos was at the tennis with a group of friends and he did not think anyone
would read the e-mail or take it seriously.

"He didn't really consider the impact of what he was writing," Mr Boden said.

Stipsianos pleaded guilty to one charge of making a threat to kill and one charge of using
a telecommunication to menace another person.

Magistrate Jack Tobin said that Stipsianos knew how to the use the computer and knew
exactly what he was doing. He convicted him on both charges.

Stipsianos was ordered to undertake 100 hours community work over six months on the first
offence and fined $250 on the second.

Ranked 35 in the world at the time, Ms Rubin was later knocked out of the tournament by
fifth seed Venus Williams.

She reached the singles semi-finals at the Australian Open in 1996, shortly before she
reached her highest world ranking so far of number six.

AAP cmc/sp/jlw/br

KEYWORD: STIPSIANOS LEAD

1999 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.