Dede Evavold has been criminally charged for violating a Harassment Restraining Order (HRO) filed against her in Dakota County by Michael Brodkorb and his family.
Evavold was charged last week after she attempted to contact Michael Brodkorb for assistance in restarting her blog after WordPress suspended it for violating their terms of service.
Brodkorb was granted an HRO against Evavold last year for her involvement in surreptitiously obtaining and later distributing a photograph of Brodkorb’s wife and minor children online.
Michael and Sarah Brodkorb filed the HROs in Dakota County against Diane Ristau of Medford, Carrie Beaudette of St. Joseph, and Evavold, who lives in St. Cloud.
The photograph of Ms. Brodkorb with her minor children was distributed multiple times with false allegations on a social media account connected to Sandra Grazzini-Rucki and her supporters.
The same social media account had been investigated by law enforcement for publishing threatening, harassing, and defamatory statements targeting judges, law enforcement, court staff, and journalists.
Evavold requested a court hearing to challenge the granting of the HRO, but a judge later upheld the HRO ruling that Evavold “was involved in the chain of events that led to repeated harassment of [Sarah Brodkorb] and her minor children.”
According to public court documents filed in Dakota County, Evavold is scheduled to be arraigned in court on July 30, 2019. The HRO against Evavold remains in place until November 19, 2020.
Evavold is currently on probation related to her criminal conviction in September 2016 of six felony counts of deprivation of parental rights related to the disappearance of Samantha and Gianna Rucki.
Judge calls Evavold’s harassment of Rucki family ‘evil’
Aside from being a six-time convicted felon who was involved in the disappearance of children, Evavold has a documented record of engaging in harassing behavior and then later of violating restraining orders meant to stop her harassment.
Evavold was arrested at her home in St. Cloud last year and jailed (booking photo above) after she violated a court order specific to an HRO granted by David Rucki, and his daughter, Samantha Rucki, against Evavold.
A judge in Dakota County later described Evavold’s threatening behavior toward the Rucki family as “evil.”
“In the 34+ years the undersigned has served as a District or Senior Judge, never have I seen a case that represents harassment most evil,” wrote Judge Philip Kanning in his order released last year. “[Evavold’s] actions have been intended to terrify, threaten and invade the privacy of the Petitioner and his minor children,” adding Judge Kanning.
Criminal charge filed against a supporter of Evavold for violating a separate restraining order
A supporter of Dede Evavold was charged last month with violating a separate HRO filed by Brodkorb. Jay Bukstein was criminally charged for violating the HRO filed against him in Dakota County by Brodkorb.
Bukstein violated the conditions of the HRO less than 90 minutes after a judge in Dakota County upheld the HRO filed by Brodkorb against Jay Bukstein. According to public court documents filed in Dakota County, Jay Bukstein is scheduled to be arraigned in court on June 4, 2019.
The harassment by Evavold and others is detailed in the award-winning true crime book The Girls Are Gone, which was written by Brodkorb and Allison Mann.
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