Faces Federal Charges for Cyberstalking

A married, active-duty Marine Corps lance corporal stationed at Camp Pendleton was arrested on February 8 for an alleged "sextortion." He is accused of cyberstalking attractive young women, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California.

The USAO criminal complaint alleges the 25-year-old Marine repeatedly stalked, harassed, and threatened the women. He demanded that they send him "nude, sexually explicit or otherwise compromising photos and videos of themselves." If the victims failed to comply, he reportedly threatened not only to publish their images on pornographic websites but also to send the images to their boyfriends, families, and employers.

How He Did It

Citing court documents, the Marine Corps Times reported on Feb. 11 that the lance corporal began approaching attractive women on social media in 2019. He claimed to be an underwater welder in New York named Michael Frito. At first, he offered money and paid for pictures or videos of their feet using Cash App.

Then, the criminal complaint alleges, he escalated to requests for nude and sexually explicit images, for which he also paid. If women refused, he threatened to expose them publicly on pornographic websites. In some cases, he actually contacted family members of the women who failed to give him what he wanted.

The Marine Times reported that the defendant allegedly cyberstalked and harassed at least one victim for more than a year, using multiple social media accounts to get around the blocks she set up. It is alleged he bragged that he couldn't be caught and would never stop.

The defendant was caught and stopped by the FBI and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service in February

Not Guilty Yet

If convicted, the Marine faces a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison, the USAO said. The press release added, "A criminal complaint contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty in court."

Anyone charged with federal crimes should retain the services of an aggressive criminal defense attorney specializing in federal law. Call the Sigal Law Group in the Greater Los Angeles area at 818-325-0570 for a free consultation.