BUFFALO, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced today that Dyllan Barber, 20, of Little Valley, N.Y., pleaded guilty to cyberstalking before U.S. District Judge John L. Sinatra, Jr. The charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey T. Fiut, who is handling the case, stated that on Nov. 30, 2019, the defendant initiated a conversation with Victim 1, a minor female, on Snapchat. Posing as a hacker by the name of “Kyle," Barber sent a threatening message to Victim 1 telling her to take and send to him sexually explicit images of herself. If she did not, the defendant stated that he would publicly release nude images of Victim 1 that he claimed to have in his possession. At the same time he was posing as “Kyle" and communicating with Victim 1 on Snapchat, Barber also encouraged Victim 1 in a telephone conversation to take and send sexually explicit images to “Kyle" because the defendant purportedly feared that “Kyle" may also publicly disclose nude images of the defendant. as a result of these threats, Victim 1 took and sent sexually explicit images of herself to Barber through the Snapchat application.
The threatening conversation between the defendant and Victim 1 occurred over the course of approximately three hours, concluding early in the morning hours of Dec. 1, 2019. Later that day, Barber, no longer posing as “Kyle," communicated with Victim 1 via Snapchat. During this conversation, Victim 1 asked the defendant if he knew anything about “Kyle." Barber falsely told Victim 1 that he did not know anything about “Kyle."
The plea is the result of an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Acting Special Agent-in-Charge Matthew Scarpino, and the Cattaraugus County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Timothy S. Whitcomb.
Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 15, 2022, at 2:00 p.m. before Judge Sinatra. #
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
