SAN DIEGO -- An administrative assistant at a North County elementary school testified Monday she was "very scared" when a man accused of threatening nine San Diego women called the school last year, telling her to listen closely because he was a "sick and dangerous man."

The testimony came at the outset of a preliminary hearing for Christopher Carl Hass, who is charged with felony stalking and making criminal threats for allegedly threatening to rape and strangle women, including several local television news reporters.

Karla Bordeleau testified that she was working at Turtleback Elementary last Nov. 18 when she got a call from a man who asked for her by name.

"He said, 'Listen to me. I am a very sick and dangerous man. I need you to giggle so that I know that you're not nervous,'" Bordeleau testified.

The caller asked the witness to name her favorite outfit and whether she attended meetings, she testified.

Bordeleau said if she answered "yeah" instead of "yes," the caller would reprimand her by saying, "You need to answer me properly. That's not how you should respond to me."

The witness said she hung up and called police.

"I was scared. I was very scared," Bordeleau said.

San Diego police Officer Corinne Queen testified that she spoke with Fox 5 news anchor Arthel Neville after she got a disturbing letter at the television station.

Queen said Neville was bothered by the letter because it seemed to come from someone who was watching her on TV. The author also referred to things he had done to other women, Neville told the officer.

"She said, 'This person seemed to be sick,'" Queen testified.

Neville told the officer she was nervous about what she wore because of references the author made to clothing in the letter, the witness said.

Hass was arrested at his home on Feb. 11 after a "distinctive crime spree" that lasted 2 1/2 years, Deputy District Attorney Wendy Patrick said.

A search of Hass' car turned up "voluminous" amounts of information, including the victims' names, telephone numbers and addresses, Patrick said.

The prosecutor alleged that Hass would call the women or send threatening mail, telling them to wear certain articles of clothing, hoop earrings and open-toed shoes, and have them say or do things.

"If they didn't comply, he threatened to rape them, strangle them with pantyhose or worse," Patrick told the judge.

She said his letters and phone calls included the warnings: "Don't mess with me: I'm a dangerous sicko."

Hass, 57, is charged with seven counts of making criminal threats, three counts of stalking and two misdemeanor counts of harassing telephone calls.

Beside news reporters, his alleged victims included school teachers, an office manager and a real estate agent. One of the alleged offenses occurred in Temecula.

Authorities said the defendant was identified by DNA and fingerprints on the letters. He faces nine years in prison if convicted.

The preliminary hearing -- which is expected to conclude Tuesday -- will establish whether authorities have enough evidence to proceed to trial.