Man Convicted of Harassing Witt : Crime: Mother makes public apology for his actions, in which he stalked the champion figure skater and sent her obscene mail.

A Westminister man who stalked former Olympic champion Katarina Witt across two continents in a misguided attempt to win her affection was convicted Thursday by a federal jury of sending her obscene and threatening mail.

Harry Veltman III, who represented himself during a two-day trial that featured testimony by the world-famous skater, stared down at the counsel table as guilty verdicts on six of the seven criminal counts were read.

“It’s a sad ending to a sad story,” said federal Public Defender H. Dean Steward, who was appointed to advise Veltman. “Obviously Harry Veltman really loved this woman and his love, I think, turned into an obsession. Now he’s paying the price for it.”

Although Veltman, 47, faces a maximum of 30 years in prison, a two- to three-year term is the specified punishment under federal sentencing guidelines. He is to be sentenced June 1.

Witt, 26, who won gold medals at the 1984 and 1988 Winter Olympics, was not in court Thursday. However, she said through her publicist: “I am very relieved and appreciative of the jury’s verdict. Hopefully, this can make it possible for other people in the entertainment world to feel that something can be done. Now I would like to put this episode behind me and get on with my life.”

Outside the courthouse, Veltman’s mother, Betty J. Hall, spoke to reporters and apologized for her son’s behavior.

“I feel very sorry for Katarina to have to go through this,” Hall said as she fought back tears. “I know Harry never would have hurt her.”

Hall said she hopes that her son, who doctors say is a paranoid schizophrenic, will receive psychological treatment while incarcerated.

Jurors, who deliberated less than four hours, also felt that Veltman was mentally ill, according to juror Larry Sitterding. “He needs help,” Sitterding said. “He shouldn’t have been his own attorney.”

During the trial, Assistant U.S. Atty. Wayne Gross depicted Veltman as an obsessed fan who pursued and harassed Witt at her home in Germany and at skating events in the United States. Veltman repeatedly tried to get her attention despite Witt’s telling him to leave her alone, Gross said.

When Witt took the witness stand Wednesday, she testified that Veltman made her fear for her life. “I believed he was going to kill me,” Witt told the jury.

Gross’ case centered on allegedly obscene and threatening material that Veltman sent to Witt, who skates professionally. Included with more than 50 pages of letters were nude photographs of Veltman and sex brochures.

Some of the letters detailed a fantasy sexual life between Veltman and Witt. In others, Veltman wrote that he considered Witt his wife, telling her to remain “chaste” for him and warning he would kill an unfaithful spouse.

Sitterding said he was shocked by the contents of the letters and called the photographs “gross.”

Veltman was charged with five counts of mailing obscene material and two counts of sending threatening mail.

Jurors were unable to reach a decision on one obscenity count after discovering that letter in question had a Mexican postmark and did not appear to be mailed from the United States, as the law requires for a guilty verdict.