Melanie Smith's blood ran cold as her phone buzzed with a stream of texts, counting down from ten.
As the countdown hit one, the 33-year-old registered nurse received a photograph of an unknown vehicle approaching her parents' Long Island home.
Then came another image: a mysterious package left on their doorstep.
She immediately called police.
Inside the parcel, officers found a little black dress.
But the slinky evening gown was no romantic gesture from a lover or boyfriend.
Instead, Smith says, it was the latest act in a three-year stalking and harassment campaign by Michal Pacek, a 47-year-old New Jersey man she alleges has terrorized her with revolting sexual messages, death threats, harassment and repeated breaches of protection orders.
'He had texted me a picture of the black dress and described what he wanted to do to me while I was in it; sexual, violent things,' Smith told the Daily Mail in an interview.
Melanie Smith, 33, says she has lived in fear for three years as an alleged stalking campaign escalated from disturbing messages to unwanted packages and late-night visits to her home.
Michal Pacek, 47, of Bayonne, New Jersey, is accused of carrying out a years-long stalking and harassment campaign targeting the Long Island nurse.
Smith says the package sent last week is in direct breach of a May 7 order of protection she obtained against Pacek.
On Wednesday morning Pacek was arrested as a fugitive from justice by the New Jersey State Police Fugitive Task Force.
Smith says he has bombarded her for three years with calls, texts, emails and online posts, including alleged death threats and false online claims that she is a child molester.
She says he also inundated her home with unwanted packages, including lingerie, sex toys, flowers, cash, and even a nail gun.
Pacek, a Polish construction worker, allegedly escalated the harassment into the real world when he drove more than two hours late at night from his home in Bayonne, New Jersey, to her parents' home in Suffolk County, New York.
It was, Pacek told Smith in a text, all allegedly part of his plan to make her a 'perfect victim' in a twisted 'social experiment,' aimed at highlighting a perceived double standard in how the law treats the elites in comparison to ordinary people.
But the part-time Pilates teacher says she never imagined his sinister messages would spiral into what she describes as a relentless stalking nightmare.
'As a woman, I already feel like I'm on high alert all the time, and then adding this on top, it's 24/7 my head is on a swivel,' Smith said.
'Any noise I hear in my home, I'm worried it could be him. I have nightmares about him. I have trouble sleeping.'
Pacek did not immediately respond to the Daily Mail's requests for comment.
Smith says she has become locked in a constant 'loop' of filing police reports and seeking orders of protection, only for Pacek to allegedly violate them within hours.
She says she has been 'failed' by Suffolk County police, the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office and gaps in New York state law that have allowed the alleged harassment to continue.
Smith said investigators initially questioned whether Pacek could be a disgruntled ex-boyfriend or patient and even asked whether she had an OnlyFans account.
She recalled: 'I felt helpless and very vulnerable. I'm turning to the people who are supposed to help me, and no one's taking me seriously.
'I am just being brushed off. It was unbelievable to me.'
There are currently six active warrants for Pacek, but because the charges are misdemeanors, 'state law limits extradition authority and prevents Suffolk County Police from taking enforcement action' outside New York, a Suffolk County Police spokeswoman told the Mail.
Smith says unwanted packages sent to her home included lingerie, flowers, sex toys, cash and even a nail gun, photos show.
Smith says at one point as many as five disturbing parcels a day were arriving at her family's home. Pictured above are items Pacek sent her including a 36-count pack of condoms, a nail gun, and two butt plugs.
The spokeswoman said the department 'takes this matter seriously' and continues pursuing 'every lawful avenue available' to hold Pacek accountable.
Smith says the situation is especially frightening because of Pacek's prior criminal history.
Court documents reviewed by the Daily Mail show Pacek was arrested in New Jersey between 2019 and 2020 on stalking and harassment charges that were later dismissed.
Online court records also show he was charged with first-degree arson in South Carolina in 2007, though that case was ultimately dropped.
Smith said she decided to go public because she fears the harassment will turn violent.
'I feel like this is a movie or a nightmare. When is this gonna end?' she said.
'What does it take? Because the next step — from texting, to packages, to showing up to my parents' house — is physical violence.
'Then will police come, when my body's in a ditch, and I'm just another news report?'
In a bizarre message seen by the Daily Mail, Pacek sent a photo of him appearing to hold one of the roses, before writing: 'It is on this day … I pronounce you Melanie Smith, my creation, and you are only limited by my imagination.'
Smith says the alleged stalker sent romantic fantasy messages imagining weddings and honeymoons despite never having met her.
Desperate for help, Smith shared her ordeal in a Long Island mothers Facebook group, where she was introduced to Adam Uris, a criminal defense lawyer and former Brooklyn assistant district attorney.
But even Uris said he has encountered 'a bunch of roadblocks' trying to get authorities to take stronger action.
'I've been extremely disappointed in the response that Melanie's received, not only from the police but by the district attorney's office,' he told the Daily Mail.
'There's been an abdication of the role of the lawyers and the police officers who are entrusted with her safety.'
According to Smith, her ordeal began after she listed an old cellphone for sale on Facebook Marketplace in May 2023.
She says Pacek responded to the listing with a rambling sexual message. After she blocked him, Smith alleges he repeatedly created new social media accounts and phone numbers to continue contacting her.
Weeks later, she began receiving similar messages directly to her cellphone.
Smith says Pacek even taunted her with screenshots of the paid apps he allegedly used to generate new numbers after she blocked previous ones.
Smith holding bags of items her stalker Michael Pacek sent her. She says she has repeatedly sought orders of protection only for the accused stalker to allegedly violate them within hours.
Smith showed the Daily Mail the reams of texts she has received from Pacek.
In May 2024, Smith felt there was no escape from the calls, voicemails, texts, and emails after receiving Pacek's apparent manifesto.
'Mel, my name is Michal Pacek, as you probably came to realization by now…you have been a victim of a harassment,' he wrote in a disturbing text message seen by the Daily Mail.
'Harassment being good old type or a sexual one is a serious issue in today's work places and should never be overlooked, disregarded or tolerated.
'I have carefully chosen you to be a "victim" in a social experiment which was intended to showcase differences in the eyes of the law between rich politicians and influential people v poor members of the public.
'Long story short…I have built you to be the perfect victim…just be yourself and tell the truth.'
In another message, he professed his love for Smith and sent photographs of a large mansion while instructing her to imagine their future wedding and honeymoon.
Smith says the online harassment escalated into a barrage of unwanted packages sent to her parents' home.
The packages allegedly included 40 sets of lingerie, condoms, lube, and butt plugs.
At one point, Smith says up to five parcels a day were arriving.
'I felt scared. I felt disturbed, disgusted,' she said.
'How did this person find my address, and why are they still contacting me when I haven't responded to anything?'
Smith says Pacek also sent her a ring box stuffed with tissue paper and cash, hundreds of dollars through Zelle and an expensive bouquet of roses.
In a message seen by the Daily Mail, Pacek sent a photo of him appearing to hold one of the roses, before writing: 'It is on this day … I pronounce you Melanie Smith, my creation, and you are only limited by my imagination.'
The alleged stalking took an even more alarming turn in July 2024, when Pacek drove from New Jersey to Smith's parents' home in Suffolk County.
Smith said Pacek had earlier mailed her a pair of high heels and referenced 'Cinderella.'
But when he arrived at the property around midnight, Smith said her father, brother and a retired police officer family friend were waiting outside.
'He was putting things in the mailbox, and when my father confronted him, his response was, "Yes, sir," in a very low voice, and then he got in his car and drove away,' Smith recalled.
When police first arrived, Pacek had already left the area.
But he was later arrested after allegedly returning to the property an hour later, according to Suffolk County police.
Smith was granted an order of protection barring Pacek from contacting her or possessing firearms.
According to Uris, Pacek allegedly resumed contacting Smith within two hours of being released.
Smith with her attorney Adam Uris. The criminal defense attorney says her case exposes dangerous loopholes in New York's stalking laws that leave victims vulnerable.
When he later returned to court, he was arrested again for allegedly violating the protection order.
Pacek spent three months in custody before a 'very brief' spell in a psychiatric hospital after being deemed mentally unfit to stand trial, Uris said.
Under New York law, the criminal case was dismissed, and Smith lost her order of protection.
She claims Pacek contacted members of her professional network and falsely accused her of child molestation and tax evasion.
Last April, Pacek was arrested again on charges of aggravated harassment and stalking, according to documents seen by the Daily Mail.
Pacek is alleged to have texted Smith photos of herself, her home and 'graphs of his penis size and pictures of condoms,' charging documents allege.
They also claim Pacek sent Smith threatening messages in Polish, including one that read: 'Are you scared? If I was in your position, I would be.'
Authorities also accused him of posting false allegations online claiming Smith's business was under investigation for crimes including prostitution, fraud and child exploitation.
Court records show Pacek was also charged with criminal contempt after allegedly violating another protection order by texting Smith.
Pacek was a no-show for his aggravated harassment trial on January 12, and an arrest warrant was issued two days later, a spokeswoman for the Suffolk District Attorney's Office told the Mail.
Uris says Pacek intentionally stopped contacting Smith until shortly after her latest protection order expired in April 2026.
She alleges he has texted repeated death threats, but when she reported the messages, police told her the threats were 'conditional' and could not support felony charges since her protection order expired.
Smith says her decision to go public has already led to increased communication from prosecutors.
They are set to meet with Smith and Uris Wednesday and are requesting a Governor's Warrant be issued to extradite Pacek from New Jersey to face the charges, a Suffolk District Attorney's Office spokeswoman told the Daily Mail.
Now, Smith and Uris are using her ordeal to push for stronger protections for stalking victims in New York.
They support proposed CREEP legislation - Ceasing Repeated, Extremely Egregious and Predatory Behavior - which would allow victims to obtain civil protection orders without needing a domestic relationship or prior arrest.
Under current law, victims who do not know their stalkers often face major obstacles obtaining protection orders through Family Court.
Uris argued New York's stalking laws leave victims dangerously unprotected because most stalking and harassment charges are misdemeanors.
'Melanie's case is a good example of the serious loopholes that exist that leave women completely exposed,' he said.
'Stalking needs to be a felony in New York.
'The man told her he was going to make her the perfect victim, and that's exactly what he's done.'