Culp Pleads Not Guilty on Telephone Harassment Charge

Christopher Culp, who was arrested for telephone harassment in connection to a threatening phone call made to former Grayslake District 46 board member Shannon Smigielski, pleaded not guilty on the charge April 3, the Lake County News-Sun reports.

Culp, 43, of 691 S. Rose Hall Lane, Round Lake, was charged with disorderly conduct-telephone harassment, a Class B misdemeanor, Grayslake police told Patch last month. Smigielski said Culp made a threatening phone call to her home at 11:45 p.m. Jan. 19, at the height of the District 46 teachers' strike.

She said the caller, later identified as Culp via phone records, left this message on her answering machine: “You are a (expletive) liar. I’d really hate to see what happens to your daughters at school when I have my kids (expletive) taunt them every day because their mother is a (expletive) liar. Settle the (expletive) strike.”

According to the News-Sun, Culp is set to appear in court April 18 for a hearing regarding whether Smigielski's order of protection against Culp will be extended.

Smigielski has said that the call left her "totally shook up."

"It shook us to our core. It really did," Smigielski told Grayslake Patch last month.