A Minneapolis man has pleaded guilty to cyberstalking, according to the United States Attorney Erica H. MacDonald. JEFFREY COLIN PURDY, 28, entered his guilty plea before Judge Susan Richard Nelson in U.S. District Court in St. Paul, Minnesota.
According to PURDY’s guilty plea and documents filed with the court, between August 30, 2017, and February 29, 2020, PURDY used various means of interstate commerce to communicate threats to injure and kidnap. The threats were made against a former classmate from Minnesota State University, Mankato, who had declined PURDY’s romantic advances and blocked him from her cellular telephone and social media accounts.
The victim reported receiving harassing emails from PURDY, which led to an investigation by the FBI and the Mankato Department of Public Safety. The investigation found that PURDY had used Mankato State’s Silent Witness Report, an anonymous incident reporting tool, to make frequent, violent threats against the victim. An IP address used to make one of the Silent Witness Reports was traced back to PURDY.
On February 29, 2020, PURDY admitted to sending all the Silent Witness Reports during an interview at the Mankato Department of Public Safety. The case is the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI and the Mankato Department of Public Safety, with assistance from the Blue Earth County Attorney’s Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily A. Polachek is prosecuting the case. PURDY is facing one count of cyberstalking. The guilty plea is a significant development in the case, and it is expected that PURDY will be sentenced in the coming months.
The guilty plea of JEFFREY COLIN PURDY serves as a reminder of the seriousness of cyberstalking and the importance of taking threats online seriously. The case highlights the need for law enforcement agencies to work together to investigate and prosecute cybercrimes. For more information on this case and other cybercrime news, visit our website.
Follow us on Twitter and Facebook for the latest updates on cybercrime and other federal crime news. The United States Attorney’s Office, District of Minnesota, can be reached at (612) 664-5600 for more information on this case and other ongoing investigations.
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Key Facts
- State: Minnesota
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Cybercrime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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