A suburban Chicago man has been sentenced to five years in federal prison for cyberstalking an individual he met on a dating platform. Kevin Cruz, who met the victim on Grindr in 2021, engaged in extensive harassment over the following years. Although they met in person several times, the victim did not share Cruz's interest in a romantic relationship.
From December 2021 until mid-2023, Cruz impersonated the victim on various dating apps, arranging for men to visit the victim's home under false pretenses. At times, men arrived anticipating sexual encounters based on Cruz's portrayal of the interactions as part of a role-playing scenario. This led to numerous unwanted visits to the victim's residence.
Cruz also distributed explicit photographs of the victim to the victim's family. In a notable instance, he texted the victim's mother from a spoofed number, falsely implying the victim had taken his own life.
Kevin Cruz, aged 34, from Oak Park, Illinois, pleaded guilty to a federal cyberstalking charge last year. Alongside the prison sentence, U.S. District Judge Steven C. Seeger ordered Cruz to pay $17,313.18 in restitution to the victim.
The sentence was made public by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Douglas S. DePodesta, Special Agent-in-Charge of the FBI's Chicago Field Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan L. Shih stated in the government's sentencing memorandum, "Defendant’s conduct shocks the conscience. He created significant risks that the victim would be hurt, injured, and raped."
