Alison Sweeney (Sami Brady) was granted a restraining order against a man who she says has been harassing her for years from over a dozen different social media accounts.
A judge ordered Jon Christopher LuVisi to stay 1,000 feet away from Sweeney and her home, car, work, and kids' school.
According to legal documents first obtained by TMZ, LuVisi had been "trying to extort thousands of dollars" by claiming he and Sweeney had been having an affair and that he would release explicit pictures of Sweeney to her husband.
Sweeney did, as most people would do in the situation, block LuVisi's accounts. When she did, the actress says that LuVisi created new accounts to continue trolling her. LuVisi reportedly became more and more threatening. Sweeney contacted authorities in June after receiving messages that said, "Bitch you better answer me" and "You can't hide from me you sorry ass bitch."
It is those threats that gave Sweeney "reasonable fears for her safety and the safety of her family." Sweeney's lawyer asserts that the actress "has suffered significant emotional distress, lack of sleep and fear for the safety of herself and her family, including her children, resulting from Defendants repeated harassment and threats."
LuVisi's wife claims that LuVisi had been "catfished" (tricked into a relationship by someone who is using a fictional or fake online persona) by someone claiming to be Sweeney. In fact, LuVisi's wife states that "in March [she] came close to divorcing [LuVisi] over his obsession" with Sweeney.
This isn't Sweeney's first negative experience on the Internet. In 2016, a company used Sweeney's likeness to sell diet pills without her consent.
Sweeney recently wrapped up a short return to Days of our Lives that will air later this year. The actress is getting set to film her next movie -- a Christmas movie -- for the Hallmark Channel.
UPDATE: A judge ordered that the restraining order be extended to three years. LuVisi failed to show up in court on Wednesday, July 26, according to TMZ -- and neither did any of his lawyers.
What do you make of Sweeney's situation? Have you ever been harassed by someone on the Internet? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.
