California Man Charged With Emailing Rape Threat

PITTSBURGH - One resident of La Jolla, Calif., has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on a charge of sending a threat via email, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.

The one-count indictment, returned on May 7 and unsealed last week, named Karthikeyan Natarajan, 26, of La Jolla, California, as the sole defendant.

According to the indictment, on or about April 5, 2013, Natarajan sent an email to L.S. threatening to rape her.

The law provides for a maximum total sentence of 5 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

Assistant United States Attorney Amy L. Johnston is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Carnegie Mellon University Police Department conducted the investigation leading to the indictment in this case.

An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.