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US Woman Accused of Harassing JK Rowling Deported LONDON (Reuters) - An American woman accused of harassing Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, has been deported from Scotland, Britain's Home Office said on Thursday. Melissa Cho was sent back to the United States earlier this month before she could attend a second appearance in court to answer the charges. "She (Melissa Cho) was removed from the UK as an immigration offender," a Home Office spokesman said. British newspapers reported Cho bombarded the author with letters and phone calls, and made numerous visits to her Edinburgh home. She also pretended to be the beneficiary of a trust set up by Rowling in an attempt to get more information about the author. Cho's initial hearing, which attended before later being served with the deportation notice, was heard at the Edinburgh Sheriff court on June 21. She declined to enter a plea and was remanded in custody. Following the deportation, Cho will not need to attend the second hearing, as the case has now been abandoned. Rowling's spokeswoman confirmed that the millionaire author had lodged a complaint against Cho for harassment, but would not comment on the specifics of the case itself. While the author uses the name Rowling for writing purposes, she chose to use her married name for the case, appearing in court documents as Joanne Murray. Rowling married Neil Murray at the couple's home in Perthshire, Scotland in December last year. Her Harry Potter series of books, about an orphaned boy who discovers he is a wizard, have sold more than 100 million copies worldwide, topping both adult and children's bestseller lists. The first in the series, "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone," was made into a film which broke box office records when it opened last year. |
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