German woman admits Gere stalking

A woman accused of stalking Richard Gere avoided jail today when she pleaded guilty in a US court to aggravated harassment, agreed to return home to Germany, and promised to leave the actor alone.

Ursula Reichert-Habbishaw, 51, of Kassell, Germany, left the Manhattan court in tears and collapsed on the pavement when she was confronted by news cameras.

Her Legal Aid Society lawyer, Peggy Bennett, and an unidentified man took her back into the court building and out a rear exit to a waiting car.

Reichert-Habbishaw, a divorced mother of four children aged 16 to 22, allegedly called or faxed Gere as many as 1,000 times and appeared at his Greenwich Village office at least six times in the past 14 months.

The charge said Reichert-Habbishaw left messages on Gere’s voice mail or Fax machine, including: ‘‘I want to be with you and share your life,’’ ‘‘Death seems to be the best,’’ ‘‘I can take a pistol and kill myself,’’ ‘‘I will stay with you for all time,’’ and ‘‘I will follow you.’’