A Georgia man was sentenced in a Boston federal court on cyberstalking and extortion charges.
Gary E. Leach, 25, of Athens, Ga., was sentenced Oct. 26 by U.S. District Court Judge Angel Kelley to 42 months in prison and three years of supervised release, according to a U.S. Department of Justice news release.
"Justice was served today," U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts Rachael S. Rollins said in the news release. "Mr. Leach is a coward who hid behind anonymous online accounts to harass, exploit and terrorize women for his own sick gratification. His disturbing and calculated conduct caused immeasurable trauma on multiple victims - one of whom was kept in a persistent state of fear for over a year."
Leach was arrested in April 2021 for cyberstalking and extortion in an online scheme that allegedly began in October 2019, according to the release. He is alleged to have obtained sexually explicit private video calls and photographs from a Boston-area victim by promising to pay her. He "surreptitiously recorded the victim during these calls" and threatened to share the recordings with the victim's family if she did not continue to send him content of a sexual nature.
He also is said to have used a number of different user names to cyberstalk other women, the release reported. This resulted in him recording other interactions and attempting to solicit sexual content from at least a dozen other Instagram users. He also initiated unsolicited video calls intended to expose himself masturbating.
Leach has been on home detention since his May 2021 release. According to the news release, he pleaded guilty to two counts of cyberstalking and one count of extortion through interstate threats.
"Cyberstalking is a serious offense that has profound consequences for victims - many of whom are women," Rollins added, according to the release. "My office and our law enforcement partners will not stand idly by. Everyone has a right to feel safe and secure in their community – whether that community is in-person or online. The cloak of internet anonymity is not impenetrable. Bad actors who cyberstalk and victimize innocent individuals will be identified, prosecuted and brought to justice."
"The victims in this case did not let fear silence them," FBI Boston Division Special Agent in Charge Joseph R. Bonavolonta said in the news release. "They courageously came forward and worked with the FBI to help bring Gary Leach's cruel cyberstalking campaign - one that inflicted intense trauma - to an end. We'd like to encourage other victims of online threats to do the same.
"Sadly, the FBI is seeing a surge in sextortion cases, with people of all ages being targeted," Bonavolonta said in the release. "It's a serious crime, and we will continue to work hard to unmask predators like Leach to ensure they are held accountable for their cowardly acts."
