OPINION AND ORDEROn June 1, 2018, Defendant David Waldman was arrested and charged with one count of cyberstalking under 18 U.S.C. §2261A(2)(B) and two counts of transmitting interstate threats under 18 U.S.C. §875(c). During Waldman’s initial appearance on June 1, 2018, the Government sought pretrial detention, arguing that Waldman is a danger to the alleged victim and others and that no condition or combination of conditions will reasonably assure the safety of the victim or the community under 18 U.S.C. §3142(e). The Court made a preliminary ruling that Waldman should be detained and ordered the parties to submit briefing on the matter. After carefully considering the parties’ briefs, the Government’s motion for pretrial detention is GRANTED.BACKGROUNDThe complaint alleges that Waldman “engaged in a long-term and pervasive campaign of harassment, intimidation, and threats directed at an individual (the ‘Victim’) who dated [him] for approximately four months in 2013 and 2014.” Compl.3. From 2014 to 2018, Waldman purportedly “sent hundreds of email and text message communications to the Victim, and created ‘blogspot’ pages, of which the Victim was the subject.” Id. (footnote omitted). In these communications and blog posts, Waldman allegedly “complained about the breakup, described the various psychiatric medications he was taking, threatened to (and later did) contact the Victim’s parents and employer, demanded that the Victim have sex with him, and threatened various acts of violence on the Victim.” Id. For example, according to the complaint, on April 8, 2014, Waldman sent the victim an email stating:I am not playing around anymore…. what i won’t deal with, and will not accept, is you out of my life…. not sure how much more of this i can take before i go haywire and bananas and show up at your apartment in the middle of the night or at your new job if you have one. trust me — i will do it. ill [sic] give you another week or so of this shit. then my limit will be reached…. we can do it the easy way, or the hard way but the end result will be the same…. you will be back in my life…. women like you come around once, twice. maybe three times in a lifetime. that means you are rare. and valuable. and something to be kept and cherished. and cherished can mean held hostage and bound and gagged inside my apartment. you will be well fed and cared for, i assure you, but do you really think you will have fun?…begin preparing for the inevitability now…or take the easy route…just get in touch with me. like i said, i have about another week left in me. after that, its [sic] bound and gagged time.Id.5(b). On April 10, 2014, Waldman allegedly sent the victim another email, which stated, “I cannot believe you changed your locks and are frightened of me and felt you had to hide from me…. I would never want to cause you harm…. [W]hat was it about me that made you afraid that I would hurt you?” Id.5(h). On April 21, 2014, shortly after the victim contacted the New York Police Department to complain about Waldman’s messages, Waldman purportedly sent the victim an email stating, “Cops are as worthless as you…. Give it up you worthless disgusting skank. You will not surivive [sic] this. I swear it.” Id.5(i); Pl.’s Letter 2.After the victim received many messages like these, on April 30, 2014, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office charged Waldman with aggravated harassment in the second degree. Compl.6(a). Shortly thereafter, the Criminal Court of the City of New York issued an order of protection, which prohibited Waldman from contacting the victim through any means, including through email or social media. Id. On July 15, 2014, that court entered an adjournment in contemplation of dismissal and entered a one-year temporary order of protection against Waldman. Id.6(b). The protective order prohibited Waldman from stalking, harassing, or contacting the victim through any means, including through electronic means, and directed Waldman not to have “any contact with the above person(s) through any third parties.” Id.Despite these orders, the Government alleges that Waldman continued to send inflammatory and threatening emails to the victim and created threatening posts on blogs that appeared to be directed toward the victim. Id.
7-9. The complaint suggests that Waldman sought to cover his tracks by using pseudonyms and different email addresses. The Government’s special agent attests that Waldman sent harassing emails to the victim using the pseudonym “Robert Roma” and the email account [email protected], and that Waldman published posts on a blog called “nycitysux.blogspot.com” using the pseudonym “Anton Phillipe Wolfgang Van Sertima.” Id.
