HOUSTON – A Montrose small business owner says a stranger who somehow knew her full name spent nearly two weeks stalking her, leaving and even mailing a series of increasingly graphic and threatening letters before he was finally arrested.
Jessica Rahm first went public about her experience on TikTok, telling followers of @365daysofjessica, “I am being stalked slash harassed in Houston,” and later warning that the messages were “getting more and more intimate,” and “unbelievably insane.”
Rahm told only KPRC 2 News she got a lot of good advice from other social media users on how to move the case forward and hopes to raise awareness going forward.
What happened
Surveillance video from her business captured a man delivering the first handwritten letter earlier this month.
What followed, Rahm says, were at least ten envelopes – some dropped off in person, others mailed – filled with sexual content and disturbing details that made it clear he had been watching her closely.
“He talked about in some of these about my car and getting in and out and items I was wearing,” Rahm said. “I was spending the day mostly wondering where he’s at.”
Some of the letters, she says, weren’t safe for work, and as they kept coming, the tone turned more threatening.
“Some of these letters get more threatening as it goes on,” Rahm said. “Multiple times he talks about how he’s going to smoke me.”
One envelope included a map showing where the man claimed he lived. Rahm sent a male friend to that location to tell him to stop, which was captured on video.
She also realized this was no prank and called Houston police after the second letter arrived.
Using the name signed on the letters, Rahm searched online and found a sex offender registration photo from last year that matched the man in her surveillance video. Still, she says that more than once officers told her simply leaving letters wasn’t a crime.
Texas stalking laws
That response highlights a broader problem, according to advocates who say Texas’ stalking laws and enforcement practices haven’t caught up with the reality of how offenders target victims.
“I do not believe that the system is fully equipped to address stalking situations,” said Heather Bellino, CEO of the Texas Advocacy Project. “This is pattern-based criminal activity. And it might not look like criminal activity if you are being stalked.”
Bellino says the law focuses on a pattern of behavior that causes a person to feel fear, but individual acts – like leaving a note or showing up near someone’s workplace – can be minimized or dismissed when viewed in isolation.
“Often a victim does need to become their own advocate,” she said, urging people to keep detailed records, save messages and report every incident to law enforcement. “Law enforcement could use more training on it. Advocates absolutely could use more training on this. But let’s be honest, the general population in society and the victims themselves need to understand that when their gut is telling them something is off and wrong, they really need to listen to that."
Rahm did what she now urges other victims to do: save everything.
“I would tell everyone, document, document, document,” she said.
Suspected stalker’s arrest
Rahm continued to call police as the letters mounted. On Tuesday, she says a female officer responded, took her concerns seriously and helped move the case forward.
That same day, Houston police took 60‑year‑old Brandon Errick Wilson into custody on a felony stalking charge.
State records show Wilson has previously served time for indecency with a child.
His bond was set at $10,000 on Wednesday after he was booked into the Harris County Jail.
Now, Rahm is relieved he is behind bars but worried about what happens next.
“Our hope is that he is scared enough to stop,” she said. “But the flip side of that is that he’s not scared and he will escalate.”
Before Wilson’s arrest, Rahm says she increased staffing at her business to avoid being alone and to help her feel safer at work.
For now, Rahm is focused on healing — and on making sure other stalking victims know they’re not alone and don’t have to stay silent.
Wilson is scheduled to make his first court appearance Friday morning in Harris County.