King County Sheriff’s Office detectives are looking for people who might have been victims of a 23-year-old man charged by prosecutors for cyberstalking with sexual motivation after he reportedly cultivated a relationship with a 17-year-old girl through MySpace.
The man reportedly made 269 calls to the King County girl from late December 2009 until the middle of March 2010 and threatened to kill her and her family, according to an Oct. 15 sheriff’s office media release.
Detectives and King County prosecutors believe there may be many other victims in King, Pierce, Thurston and Snohomish counties and they want those people to come forward.
William Thomas Pritchard was booked Aug. 20 in King County and remains in custody at the county jail in Seattle, according to jail records.
Detectives recommended that prosecutors charge Pritchard with 269 counts of cyberstalking, communicating with a minor for immoral purposes, harassment and extortion.
Pritchard met a 17-year-old girl on MySpace and allegedly began demanding nude photos of the girl via e-mail and making explicit threats to the girl and her family if the photos were not sent, according to the sheriff’s office.
The girl reportedly received 30 nude photos of Pritchard along with sexually explicit comments.
Pritchard was able to get the girl’s hometown and cell phone number from her MySpace page and allegedly left threatening messages on her voice mail and when she answered the phone. The alleged threats went on for several months until the sheriff’s office became involved.
He reportedly told the girl he would get his friends to kill her and her family; that he would kill her and carve his name into her chest; and that if she called the police he would kill her.
Pritchard has been charged with harassment in Pierce County, but has yet to go to trial in that case. He also has felony convictions for cyberstalking as well as arrest warrants for cyberstalking from Seattle and harassment from Pierce County.
Based on a review of cell phone records received from a search warrant in the case, detectives believe there may be other victims living in Pierce, Thurston, Snohomish, and King counties.
If anyone has received harassing or obscene phone calls from Pritchard, they are asked to call the King County Sheriff’s Office at 206-296-3311 (24 hours a day) or their local police department. The Kent Police can be reached at 253-856-5800.
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