Officials with the San Diego County Sheriff's Department (SDSO) are investigating a threat against Encinitas Mayor Catherine Blakespear.
The department is taking the July 2 threat seriously, SDSO Captain John Maryon told NBC 7 San Diego. The department took a criminal report and it investigating the threat.
Blakespear told NBC 7 that the text message threat referenced fantasies the suspect had of committing violent sexual acts against her.
“We are taking this seriously," Maryon said in a statement to NBC 7 San Diego, adding that he could not comment on the specifics of the threat due to the ongoing investigation. "To send something like that is not right, and it’s illegal.”
Blakespear, elected mayor of Encinitas in November, said she is taking added protections to keep herself and her family safe. She is serving a two-year mayoral term.
“Threatening sexual violence is aimed at making me feel fearful and vulnerable as a woman," Blakespear told NBC 7 in a statement. "Its goal is to terrorize me, and I recognize that."
She said she does not know who sent her the threat. Blakespear said she reported the threat to Sheriff's deputies on July 3.
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Maryon said he could not comment further on the matter as the threat is under investigation.
The investigation is ongoing.
No further information was available.
