Staff Report

Scotty Lee Van Hawk

WARSAW — A Warsaw man was recently arrested on 11 criminal charges after repeatedly harassing and threatening his ex-wife while violating a protective order.

In the first case, Scotty Lee Van Hawk, 49, 1087 E. CR 350N, Warsaw, is charged with stalking, a level 5 felony; and three counts of invasion of privacy and one intimidation charge, all class A misdemeanors. Van Hawk is also charged with stalking, a level 5 felony; and three counts of invasion of privacy and two counts of intimidation, all class A misdemeanors, in a second case.

On Nov. 7, 2019, a dissolution case with children was filed by Van Hawk’s ex-wife.

On Nov. 22, 2019, Van Hawk’s ex-wife filed for a protection order against him. The order prohibits Van Hawk from communicating with her, with the exception being civil discussion about their children. The order was served on Van Hawk in January 2020.

On July 19, 2020, a Kosciusko County Sheriff’s officer responded to a report of Van Hawk violating the protective order. At that time, Van Hawk already had three cases pending in Kosciusko Superior Court Two for violating the protective order. The woman said she had received several text messages from Van Hawk demanding to speak to their children.

According to court documents, Van Hawk allegedly sent threats of sending search parties to the woman’s residence to check on the children, saying “her reign of terror to our kids is over.”

On Aug. 23, 2020, the woman reported another protective order violation to the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office. The woman said Van Hawk had sent her harassing and threatening text messages.

The messages accused the woman of taking one of their children’s money. Van Hawk also said that she and her parents were “web famous,” referencing a website that targets the woman and her parents.

A text message Van Hawk sent to her implies that he would continue using the website and the Internet to publicly harass her. Van Hawk also asked the woman how she felt about seeing her handwritten letters posted on the Internet. The woman told officers that prior to posting the images, Van Hawk sent her the pictures so she would be aware of what he was doing.

On Sept. 4, 2020, the woman reported Van Hawk continuing to violate the protective order. The woman said she was continuing to receive harassing text messages and that this had occurred constantly for a week.

She said she didn’t report every incident the same day it occurred since they constantly happen and since she’s reported the violations frequently. The woman also said Van Hawk sent her pictures that he was going to upload to the Internet, targeting her and her parents.

The woman said Van Hawk allegedly mailed postcards to all of her parents’ neighbors, directing them to a website that targets her parents and calls them “child molester collaborators and abusers of children.” The website specifically refers to the woman’s parents’ by their first and last names.

On Feb. 23, the woman reported to a Kosciusko County Sheriff’s officer that Van Hawk violated the protective order again. The woman said she had been receiving harassing text messages and showed them to the officer. The messages called the woman’s family “molesters” and described her as “evil and a liar.”

On March 4, another protective order violation by Van Hawk was reported. The woman said she received several harassing and intimidating messages from Van Hawk. Some of the messages callously referred to the passing of the parties’ domestic relations court judge, as well as an illness experienced by her attorney and the fact their assigned guardian ad litem was sued for malpractice.

On March 9, the woman reported Van Hawk had called her phone several times. She did not answer the calls. Van Hawk also allegedly sent her several harassing and intimidating messages. In the messages, Van Hawk told her if she didn’t give her children the cellphone that he provided to them, he would send someone to her house to “get them to safety.”

This made the woman fearful that someone would come to her house and take her children. Van Hawk called the woman “insane and a psychotic liar” and said she had been sued “by his tribe” for her crimes. This refers to a small claims action Van Hawk filed under the name of a straw corporation he created called the Child Protection Corp.

On March 4, the Child Protection Corp. filed its articles of incorporation with the Indiana Secretary of State. The name of the registered agent was listed as Tasalgi Tawodi. The world “Tsalagi” refers to both the member of the Cherokee Tribe, as well as the name of the Cherokee language. The word “Tawodi” means “hawk” in the Tsalagi language.

On March 9, Van Hawk filed a notice of claim against the woman in Kosciusko Superior Court Three. In the claim, Van Hawk listed himself as a full-time employee of Child Protection Corp., with an address in Culver. According to Marshall County property records, the listed address is a vacant lot. In November 2019, the building on the property was removed due to fire and the property was in foreclosure proceedings.

In the small claim, Van Hawk is suing the woman for $1,500, alleging that she physically and emotionally abused children in her care. Van Hawk also filed a similar claim against the woman’s parents, suing them for the same amount of money and alleging they covered up child molestations of children in their care.

On March 11, the woman reported Van Hawk continuing to send harassing and threatening text messages. In addition, Van Hawk also called the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office to say he would not be bringing their children to the sheriff’s office for the custody exchange.

The woman was finally able to get the children back from Van Hawk; however, after the exchange, she began to receive text messages from Van Hawk. In one message, Van Hawk sent a picture of a petition for involuntary commitment, alleging that the woman needed to be committed for a mental health evaluation.

Van Hawk also said in the messages that the woman was a danger to others. He attempted to file the petition with the Kosciusko County clerk.

On March 13, the woman reported Van Hawk continuing to send harassing and intimidating text messages. The woman said Van Hawk provided their children with iPhones so he could FaceTime with them. However, the woman said she feared that Van Hawk would use the phones to track her location. She said she instead uses Zoom to facilitate communication between the children and Van Hawk. The woman said she often gets abusive text messages from Van Hawk after the Zoom calls.

On March 17, the woman said she was continuing to receive harassing text messages unrelated to the children from Van Hawk.

Van Hawk was arrested on March 28 following a four-hour stand-off with police.