New SHE SAID, HE SAID: Accused stalker Charles Nagel leaves Brooklyn federal court, where he testified that he thought he had struck up an online friendship with actress Kathryn Erbe (above). (Desiree Navarro/Gamma)
“Law & Order: Criminal Intent” star Kathryn Erbe burst into tears on the witness stand yesterday as prosecutors showed the crudely doctored photo of her teenage daughter that her accused stalker posted online.
“This is a seventh-grade graduation photograph of my daughter,” a sobbing Erbe told a Brooklyn federal court. “This is my daughter, who is innocent and relatively defenseless.”
The despicable photo featured a hand-drawn cockroach scrawled across the 14-year-old girl’s face — and a dialog bubble with the words “I’m ugly.”
The teary, emotional actress — on the witness stand for 90 minutes — testified she first met alleged stalker Charles Nagel at a Washington Heights location shoot in 2008.
As she prepared to tape a scene for the popular television show, Erbe said she greeted Nagel, who was accompanied by his three children and his wife, signed autographs for them, and even posed for photos.
But the encounter creeped her out, she testified.
“I was extremely uncomfortable,” she told the jury. “He stared at me openly.”
Later that day, Erbe said she mentioned her discomfort to her chauffeur.
“I looked over, and the defendant was running along the car on the sidewalk and waving, and I said, ‘This is trouble,’ ” she recalled.
As the defendant took the stand, a hush fell over the courtroom.
Nagel, who has pleaded not guilty to interstate stalking, testified that he had traveled from his home in Philadelphia to visit the film set and meet the star with whom he presumed he had been corresponding on the Internet for several months.
Nagel explained how he had discovered a Kathryn Erbe Myspace page, and struck up what he thought was an electronic friendship.
The messages were signed with a nickname, “Katie,” he testified.
“She was nice,” Nagel said. “We would e-mail each other regularly. I told her about my kids and my music.”
He said the impostor even posted one of his songs on her page.
Nagel said it wasn’t until after he was arrested for stalking that he found out the Kathryn Erbe Myspace page had no connection to the actress.
Nagel’s attorney, Robert Datner, told the jury when Nagel met Erbe, he thought he was greeting a friend who had encouraged his musical creativity.