A 21-year-old college student has convinced a Cincinnati court to grant her a stalking order against her parents whom she claims have been following her around and monitoring her every move since she left home.
According to Aubrey Ireland, a music theater major at the College-Conservatory of Music, her parents, David and Julie, would regularly drive 600 miles from Leawood, Kansas, to Ohio to make unannounced drop-ins at her school.
They became over-involved in every facet of her life, Ireland told the court, going so far as to "inform" the head of her department that she suffered from serious mental issues.
Ireland says her parents accused her of drug use and "promiscuity," and even installed keylogging software on her computer and cellphone to keep tabs on her social life.
At one point Ireland decided to break off all contact with her parents, to which they responded by cutting off her college tuition.
The school sided with Ireland — a Dean's List student and the star of many department performances — and agreed to fund her senior year with a scholarship. The administration even hired security guards to ensure that Ireland's parents were blocked from attending her shows.
After an initial attempt to settle the case failed, Judge Jody Luebbers of the Common Pleas Court dismissed the Irelands' claim that their daughter was lying and ordered them to stay 500 feet away from her at all times and make no attempt to initiate contact before Sept. 23, 2013.
Aubrey is scheduled to graduate this spring.
[photo via Twitter]