Stalked by a former professor

I'm a 22 yo woman and a college student. I never thought I'd have a reason to post on this sub, but here I am.<br><br>It was 2017 and I was 18 at the time. Freshman in college. Second semester. I took a class in the psych department, for one of my required gen eds. I didn't like the professor very much. He was a TA, but he was a lot older than the average TA. Like, I thought he was the prof at first, but nope, he was the TA. He was probably in his early 40s at the time, but as a freshman everything and everyone seems older.<br><br>Anyway, he was a very awkward, stand-offish guy. At one point, he had us do a survey, and the survey asked us if we were in high school, college, or other. I answered college, of course, but he didn't like that, since this was a college class. (It was a basic psych 101 class. I don't know why he though there'd be high school students in there.)<br><br>One day, he kept me after class. He told me that he looked up my public facebook profile. He saw pictures of my boyfriend and me. He said that he was concerned about us, because he thought we both looked young. He said, no, you shouldn't have marked college. You look like you're in high school. You and your boyfriend both do. Then he asked me when my birthday was. I told him, and he realized I had just turned 18. Then, he said, "Oh, well you look like you're 15."<br><br>For some reason, I didn't think this was weird. I was pretty socially naive and isolated. Like, I never had a real job or even a real friend until my early 20s. I just kind of assumed that he was trying to be nice.<br><br>The next time I came to class, though, he stopped me again. He said, "I looked up your boyfriend. He's a lot older than you. Is he, uh, taking care of you?"<br><br>Again, I didn't think this was weird. I thought he was genuinely trying to help, like he was my prof, my teacher, my mentor, my guide, etc. I told him that yes, my boyfriend does take care of me.<br><br>That was it for a while. He didn't stop me again after that. I thought that he'd just run out of things to say. Plus, he wasn't my actual prof. He was just the TA. There were a bunch of other TAs for that class, so we only saw him once a week. I felt a little uncomfortable, but like I said, socially naive. Plus I was introverted and had no friends, so I didn't know how to talk about this with anyone.<br><br>Then one day, I was studying in the library. This was like ... February or March. It was freezing outside. I had just walked across campus to the library, and my hands were freezing. I didn't wear gloves. As I sat down at my desk, this familiar voice said, "Well, you know, you should really wear gloves. Your hands are so cold." It was the TA. He sat across from me. I was shocked. Scared. This was a big university. I didn't think I'd run into him off campus, let alone in the library.<br><br>He started hitting on me. I didn't realize it at first because, as I said, socially naive. But then I realized he was flirting. He asked me if I had a curfew with my boyfriend. I told him no. Then, though, he asked, "Well, what time does he expect you home?" I told him that it was 10 pm. Then he said, "Well, I'll walk you home at 10."<br><br>I didn't know what to do. At this point, I finally got it. This was creepy, and I was scared. But also, I was stupid. I didn't want to make him mad. I was his student. I didn't want a bad grade. I told him that, actually, I planned on studying until midnight. I didn't know what else to do. I didn't want him to know what my real plans were, since they were to go home around 8 pm.<br><br>So he said "okay." He asked me if he could sit next to me. I told him no. He sat next to me anyway, and he just ... sat there. For like two hours. Until 8 pm rolled around. I tried to ignore him. I tried to study. He would interrupt me and ask me questions. Like, have you eaten dinner? Why don't I get you a sandwich?<br><br>Finally at 8, I just got up and left. He followed me out of the library and onto campus. I didn't know what to do. I never experienced this kind of thing before. I'd only been in one relationship, which was with my boyfriend. I had no experience talking to men, let alone creepers. Finally, I just told him, "You can't walk me home. I need to go by myself." Then I walked away, fast.<br><br>He didn't follow me. He stayed where he was. He just called after me, asking me why I was being so mean to him. I didn't feel safe going home after this, so I went to the student union, which was open pretty late. I hung out there by myself for a while.<br><br>The next time class rolled around, he kept me after class again. He told me that he thought we could be friends. I told him no. Then he asked me, "Why don't you like me? I just want to be your friend." Again, I was socially naive, but I was getting really scared. I didn't know what to do. So I just said, "Okay, fine. But just as friends." I didn't mean it, though.<br><br>The next time I saw him, he looked me up and down and he said, "You're so beautiful. You don't wear enough makeup, though." Then he tried to take out his phone and take a selfie with me. I didn't want him to, but I didn't know how to say no. So he took the picture.<br><br>Then he followed me out of class again. This time, he followed me to my car. He sat down in the passenger seat. I didn't know what to do. I didn't know if I should call the police or not. I didn't know how to get him out of my car. I felt trapped. So I just ... drove him around campus. For like 20 minutes. We just talked. I don't really remember what we talked about.<br><br>After that, he started coming to my other classes. He sat in the back of my journalism class. My boyfriend was in that class too. He saw him, so after class, he asked me about it. I didn't know what to say. I didn't know how to explain, and I didn't want to sound crazy. I think I just told him that the professor really liked me or something.<br><br>Then one day, I was walking across campus, and my boyfriend was walking across campus in the same direction. He saw me and came up to me. He asked me what I was doing, and I told him I was going to class. He said okay, and he kept walking.<br><br>Then the stalker saw him. He called after him. He said, "She doesn't need you. She's an adult. She can take care of herself." Then he told me, "You know, I saw him kiss you. You know that was wrong, right? Don't you remember when I told you that you look like you're 15?"<br><br>At this point, I finally realized this was too much. I finally felt like I had to do something. So I went to the prof for that class, the real prof. Not the TA. I told him what happened. The prof was horrified. He said it sounded like the TA had a pedo obsession with young women. He said that the TA was gay, and that he thought the TA was in the closet, and that he was attracted to me. He said the only thing I could do is go to the dean, and get a no contact order. He said he'd back me up on it.<br><br>I was so scared. I didn't even tell my boyfriend. I was too ashamed. So I went to the dean by myself. I told him what happened. Then I showed him the selfie of me and the TA. The dean looked at me and he said, "How did he get you to take this picture with him?" I told him that the TA just asked me, and I said okay.<br><br>The dean said, "You know he's in love with you, right? He's obsessed with you." Then he asked me, "Are you okay? Do you feel safe?" I told him yes, I was okay and I felt safe, but really I wasn't okay. I was just so relieved that someone finally believed me. So he said he'd contact the TA and tell him to leave me alone. He said he'd back me up if I got a no contact order, and he told me how to do it.<br><br>It wasn't easy. It took a while, and a lot of paperwork, but I finally got the no contact order. I felt so much better after that. I finally felt safe.<br><br>I saw the TA one more time after that. It was at the end of the semester. I was picking up my final paper from him, which had my grade on it. He looked at me and he said, "I just want to be friends with you." Then I told him, "No, I have a no