Former Drexel University student sentenced for cyberstalking classmate

PHILADELPHIA — A Southbury, Connecticut man was sentenced to 24 months’ imprisonment Nov. 1, followed by three years’ supervised release, after pleading guilty to cyberstalking, following a joint investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Philadelphia, Philadelphia Police Department, and the Drexel University Police Department.

During the 2015-16 school year, Jacob Waitze, a former Drexel University student, used a computer and the Internet to engage in a campaign of harassment and intimidation against a Drexel student following a personal dispute with the student. Waitze impersonated the victim in a variety of Internet forums, suggesting that the victim was either a pedophile who needed help or someone interested in receiving child pornography material. In doing so, the communications and statements Waitze made typically included the victim’s true name, the victim’s actual e-mail address, photographs of the victim, and/or actual personal details concerning the victim, such as the victim’s status as a Drexel student. As a result, the victim received multiple unwanted emails, both from persons who were offended by the posts and from persons who wanted to engage the victim in conversations related to child pornography.