Kevin Spacey stalker jailed for four years

An American woman who stalked and threatened Oscar-winning actor and Old Vic artistic director Kevin Spacey has been jailed for four years.

Linda Louise Culkin, from Massachusetts, undertook a "persistent and malevolent" cyberstalking campaign against the star, the US District Court in Boston heard.

In November she pleaded guilty to charges including sending threatening communications and false information regarding explosives.

She was reported to have images at her home in the town of Quincy that showed Spacey with his eyes blacked out, as well as multiple copies of a page entitled 'Killing Kevin Spacey'.

The judge ordered her to pay Spacey $124,000 to compensate for bodyguards he hired during the two-year period when she harassed him.

Culkin, 55, was credited with time served since her arrest in January 2012, meaning she now has 18 months of the sentence left to serve.

Spacey said in a statement to the court it was "difficult to measure the degree of terror" that Culkin's actions had caused.

"I have some mental health issues," Culkin said in response to the verdict. "I was overzealous. I cop to that. I fully apologise to him. I didn't mean it to be so harsh."