Woman jailed for stalking 'Idol' finalist

An Australian woman has been jailed for 26 months after admitting to stalking an American Idol finalist over the internet.

Tanya Maree Quattrocchi, 23, pleaded guilty to four charges of cyber-stalking after confessing to hacking into the MySpace account of contestant Diana DeGarmo and intercepting her personal emails.

Quattrocchi, from Melbourne, was alleged to have posed as a 14-year-old in order to join the social blogging network. She was also accused of sending an email to DeGarmo's sister-in-law with false claims about the singer's sex life.

During sentencing at Victoria State County Court, the judge said that Quattrocchi's crimes were especially serious because they happened just six months after she was convicted on similar charges.

In 2007, she was sentenced to 150 hours of community service for cyber-stalking and blackmailing DeGarmo.

The judge said: "From a victim's perspective you are a faceless stalker invading every aspect of their lives. There is no door to lock, no alarm to activate."

She will be eligible for parole after 12 months.

DeGarmo finished runner-up to Fantasia Barrino on the third season of the Fox competition. She later released an album called Blue Skies and appeared on Broadway in Hairspray.