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Shawn Moul at his sentencing Tuesday at the Regional Justice Center in Kent where he was sentenced to 26 1/2 years in prison for stalking Tracy Lundeen for 17 years. (Photo by Ken Lambert / The Seattle Times)

A 31-year-old man who has been stalking a woman since they were both in middle school was sentenced this morning to 26 1/2 years in prison.

Shawn Moul has stalked Tracy Lundeen since shortly after they met at McKnight Middle School in in Renton in 1994 when she was in eighth grade.  Despite obtaining a no-contact order against Moul, he persisted and in 2001 was convicted of stalking Lundeen and repeatedly violating the order.

After spending nearly eight years in prison, Moul resumed his efforts to contact Lundeen about two years after his release. A King County jury in July convicted him of two counts of felony stalking and 19 counts of violating an anti-harassment order by sending letters to Lundeen and her sister.

Regardless of the sentence, Lundeen told The Times last year that she had no illusions.

“The letters will never stop. It’s never going to stop,” said Lundeen, 32. “[But] as long as he’s locked up, I’m more content.”

Speaking in court today, Lundeen addressed Moul, who didn’t even turn to look at her.

“I don’t love you, I don’t like you, I don’t intend to be with you,” she said.

Nonetheless, the King County Prosecutor’s Office asked for a lengthy prison sentence during this morning’s sentencing hearing at the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent. “I do not believe the community can be kept safe absent the exceptional sentence,” said Senior Deputy Prosecutor Alex Voorhees.

Moul told Superior Court Judge Patrick Oishi that all he did was contact people.

“I don’t mind being in custody the rest of my life,” Moul said. “I don’t know what to say any further.”

When the sentence was announced, Lundeen broke into a wide grin. While she doesn’t believe the sentence will keep Moul from contacting her, the long prison term gives her some sense of relief. She doesn’t think that she will be free of him until he is dead.

Moul’s sentence includes 7 1/2 years for the two felony counts and 19 years for the misdemeanor counts.