A Seattle, Washington man pleaded guilty to conducting cyberstalking and threat campaigns against multiple Washington residents. The victims\u2019 names are being withheld to protect their privacy.<\/p>\n
Joel Kurzynski, 38, of Seattle, Washington, a former Information Technology professional, was charged in a felony information with two counts of cyberstalking.<\/p>\n
According to admissions made in connection with his plea, Kurzynski engaged in an extensive and rapidly escalating cyberstalking campaign that targeted two individuals known to him. The online campaign involved — among other things — death threats, body shaming, and hate speech. Beginning in March 2017, Kurzynski orchestrated numerous spam phone calls to Victim 1. The conduct soon escalated to fake dating profiles wherein Kurzynski portrayed Victim 1 as seeking sadomasochistic or underage relationships. These profiles contained photographs of Victim 1 and his contact information, resulting in solicitations and harassing messages directed toward Victim 1 from multiple strangers. Kurzynski then sent several anonymous death threats to Victim 1, including the threat, \u201cfaggot. Time to die.\u201d At one point, Kurzynski impersonated a journalist and contacted Victim 1, claiming that an upcoming article would levy sexual misconduct allegations against Victim 1 related to Victim 1\u2019s work with a non-profit youth organization.<\/p>\n
Kurzysnki also admitted that in November 2017, he began registering Victim 2 for numerous weight loss and suicide prevention programs, resulting in a wave of calls and emails from entities such as Overeaters Anonymous, Weight Watchers, Yellow Ribbon Suicide Prevention, and others. Within weeks, Kurzynski started sending anonymous death threats to Victim 2, many of which referenced Victim 2\u2019s work address. One threat claimed that he was waiting for her in the lobby, and another that said, \u201cLooking forward to seeing you today and how much you bleed. Don\u2019t go to the bathroom alone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJoel Kurzynski\u2019s guilty plea demonstrates that conduct occurring online can cause victims serious harm and anguish offline,\u201d said Assistant Attorney General Benczkowski. \u201cWhile this prosecution cannot undo the damage this defendant inflicted, it sends a clear message that the Criminal Division and our law enforcement partners are firmly committed to protecting the public and aggressively pursuing malicious actors who hide behind the anonymity of the Internet.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis defendant thought he could use a computer keyboard to stalk and harass others with remarkable cruelty — all while hiding in the shadows. He could not have been more wrong,\u201d said U.S. Attorney Hayes. \u201cConduct that we all know is wrong in the real world, is just as wrong in cyberspace and will be punished accordingly.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A Seattle, Washington man pleaded guilty to conducting cyberstalking and threat campaigns against multiple Washington residents. The victims\u2019 names are being withheld to protect their privacy. Joel Kurzynski, 38, of Seattle, Washington, a former Information Technology professional, was charged in a felony information with two counts of cyberstalking. According to admissions made in connection with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5409,"featured_media":95672,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":[]},"categories":[54],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\n