NSFW
David R. Waldman was sentenced to 4 years in prison on January 22 for conducting a 4-year cyberstalking and threats campaign directed at a woman he dated for several months in 2014.
Waldman, 49, of Inwood, was charged by criminal complaint on June 1, and pled guilty on August 22.
He has been detained since his arrest in June.
The cyberstalking campaign
According to the complaint, Waldman met the victim through on online dating website in November 2013. They dated briefly, and he started sending her harassing and threatening electronic communications shortly after they broke up in April 2014.
Waldman sent the victim hundreds of email, text, and voicemail messages over the next four years.
He often used his own name, cellphone, and email address when contacting her.
In 2017, Waldman started using anonymous email services to contact the victim.
For example, on October 8, 2017, he sent her an email using the name “Ingrid Rand”. The subject line was “ive [sic] watched you run.” The email stated “you look screwy. you stick your butt out and it looks strange. while you will be dead it is not for the way you run even though I hate it. we are neighbors almost. the internet is large but the world is small.”
In April 2014, Waldman mailed a letter to the victim’s parents. He apparently told them that their daughter is a whore.
In September 2014, Waldman sent a series of emails to the victim’s employer. The emails contained false allegations of drug use, theft, and libel, among other things.
Waldman also created harassing and threatening blog posts targeting the victim.
“i dig on vendettas and dig on revenge. . . . i will ruin you. i will fuck up your shit to the point that your life will be unrecognizable.”
David Waldman
For example, on July 20, 2014, he published a blog post that stated that she was a “fucking cunt. if you were to die tonite i would actually smile. . . i hope you sweat yourself to death tonite.”
Many of Waldman’s blogs included the victim’s name, her employer’s name, photographs of her, and the name of the man she dated after she broke up with Waldman.
The state charges
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office charged Waldman twice in 2014, but the first case was adjourned in contemplation of dismissal, and the second case resulted in a conditional discharge. The court issued several orders of protection that prohibited him from contacting the victim.
The sentencing hearing
Waldman entered the courtroom at around 3:40 pm, escorted by two U.S. Marshals. He was wearing an orange prison jumpsuit and shackles. Waldman gestured to his mother and stepfather who were sitting in the front row.
The victim and her boyfriend were in the courtroom along with a number of friends and family members.
U.S. District Judge Katherine Failla asked Waldman’s defense attorney, Clay Kaminsky, to explain how his client obstructed justice.
Kaminsky said that Waldman tried to dissuade the victim from getting help after she contacted law enforcement in 2014.
The government makes its case
Federal prosecutor Mona Sedky told judge Failla that Waldman is eligible for acceptance of responsibility credit because he changed his conduct and admitted liability after his arrest.
She conceded that Waldman has mental health issues, but said that she’s not exactly sure what the issues are. Sedky cast doubt on a recent diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder.
Sedky noted that Waldman’s cyberstalking campaign went on for an unusually long time, and it was very harmful. She said that Waldman knew that he was terrifying the victim and he delighted in it.
Sedky claimed that Waldman is still obsessed with the victim. She said that he accessed her profile on MapMyRun and googled locations along her route in 2018.
Sedky said that Waldman had a hunting knife, a lock-picking kit, and a BB gun in his cluttered apartment. She said she doesn’t know if Waldman was planning on assaulting the victim, but she can’t rule it out.
Sedky pointed out that Waldman was a competent attorney.
She said that holding him in custody is the only thing protecting the victim.
Sedky asked for a sentence of 60 months.
Waldman’s victim addresses the court
Waldman’s victim said that in November 2013, she saw his photo online and recognized him as someone she went to school with.
She said that he called himself a feminist and introduced her to his friends and coworkers. Two months after they started dating, however, Waldman changed. He became jealous, and verbally and physically abusive. The victim said that Waldman told her that he was violent with his ex-girlfriend in law school.
She ended the relationship in April 2014.
The victim described a disturbing incident that took place shortly after they broke up. Waldman sent her an email threatening to bind and gag her and hold her hostage inside his apartment. The next night he showed up at her apartment unannounced while she hid inside with a friend with guard dogs.
The victim said that Waldman bought a gun to kill her and she took steps to prepare for her execution.
She said that she still wakes up scared at times despite the fact that Waldman has been in custody for several months. The victim implied that the situation caused her to have a miscarriage.
The victim’s boyfriend addresses the court
The victim’s boyfriend explained that he was also a victim of Waldman.
He said that the last four years felt like murder in slow motion.
The victim’s boyfriend talked about the devastating impact of Waldman’s threats on his girlfriend and their relationship.
He asked the judge to impose the maximum sentence under the law.
Waldman’s defense
Kaminsky admitted that his client’s conduct was awful, but said it doesn’t define him.
He said Waldman is a good person.
Kaminsky rejected the notion that Waldman was planning to use physical violence. He said his client has no history of violence, and he has not engaged in violence with anyone in the courtroom.
Kaminsky admitted that Waldman went to the victim’s home in 2014, and that he found her MapMyRun site in 2018.
He said the hunting knife found in Waldman’s apartment is actually a fishing knife that belonged to his father.
Kaminsky said Waldman is ill, and he has a history of abusing drugs, including methamphetamine.
He said that Waldman never received good mental health treatment, and he’s hopeful that it will work for him.
He asked for a sentence of 1 year and 1 day, and 3 years of supervised release.
Waldman addresses the court
Waldman called himself a self-medicating coward.
He said he regrets every word of his emails and blog posts.
“I am ashamed, I am humiliated, and I am sorry.”
David Waldman
Waldman said he accepts full responsibility for the consequences of his words.
The judge renders her sentence
Judge Failla said that Waldman would receive acceptance of responsibility credit despite his initial obstructive conduct.
She said there’s no proof that he intended to physically harm the victims, but they had reason to believe the threat was real.
Judge Failla expressed concern that Waldman accessed the victim’s MapMyRun profile in 2018.
She explained that the sentence approximates the term of the defendant’s campaign against the victim.
Judge Failla suggested that determination of restitution should be deferred for 90 days. Waldman already agreed to pay the victim $54,599.
The sentence is 4 years and 2 months in prison, and 3 years of supervised release.