By Shayna Jacobs
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN SUPREME COURT — An Indiana man convicted of stalking and harassing Grammy award winner Ashanti was sentenced to two years in jail on Thursday and ordered to stay away from every member of the singer's family.
Devar Hurd, 31, stalked Ashanti but told a judge he did not intend any harm for the singer, with whom he had an imaginary romantic relationship.
"Yes I sent some adult text messages, for adults only," Hurd told a judge at his sentencing.
The singer's mother, Tina Douglas, received a flurry of explicit photos and disturbing sexual messages describing lewd acts with her daughters, Ashanti and her younger sister.
The dozens of messages portrayed a delusional man, who believed he was secretly dating Ashanti. He also claimed to have have had a modeling career, his own record label and connections in the music industry.
"I have no intention to harass to her," said the convicted stalker, who claimed to have met the singer once in passing at a Chicago concert. "I've always meant the best for her and her career."
Since the conviction, Hurd has been clinically diagnosed with a delusional disorder, confirming suspicions that his often-rambling testimony at trial was based on a serious misunderstanding of reality.
"I realize that you don't want to hear this but it is obvious to me that you need to get help," said Manhattan Judge Thomas Farber, before issuing his sentence.
Prosecutors recommended the maximum sentence of two years in jail for Hurd. They said it was obvious Hurd deliberately bothered Ashanti's family and continued the behavior despite their repeated requests for him to stop.
"Even if he believed that Ashanti was in love with him, his conduct was not that of a man wooing a woman," said Assistant District Attorney Carolina Holderness. "It's not like he was sending her flowers."
Farber said he was hoping to sentence Hurd to probation and mandatory treatment for his mental illness, but was restricted because of complications with the defendant's residency.
He was arrested in Indiana by New York authorities, but his family relocated to Illinois, where the probation agency will not accept him as a transfer.
"I'm left with many completely unsatisfactory options," Farber said.
Hurd has been at Rikers Island since July 22, 2009 and his eight months served already will be credited to his sentence.
It is unclear if he will have a home to return to with his family in Illinois when he is released.
