LAFAYETTE MAN SENTENCED TO 37 MONTHS IN FEDERAL PRISON FOR CYBERSTALKING

Anthony Joseph Depa, age 49, of Lafayette, Louisiana, was sentenced to 37 months in federal prison following his conviction for cyberstalking. U.S. District Judge John W. deGravelles further sentenced Depa to serve three years of supervised release following his term of imprisonment.

According to admissions made as part of his guilty plea, beginning in January 2025 and continuing through the end of March 2025, Depa repeatedly threatened, harassed, and intimidated several victims in the Middle District of Louisiana and elsewhere, by sending them a series of electronic messages (including email messages, text messages, and messages through a social media platform), in which he threatened to kill and harm the individuals and members of their families. 

For instance, in an email Depa sent to several of his victims on January 26, 2025, he told the victims, in part, “I will kill all 3 of you when I see you in person next. . . . Not a threat. A f****** promise.”  In another message, he told one of his victims that he would “jump into” the victim’s “window” and “end [the victim’s] life.” Depa continued sending threatening messages even after one of the victims obtained two restraining orders against him in state court, telling the victims that he would “beat [them] to death . . . with [his] bare hands” and “kill them,” and that he would “sneak into [one victim’s] window” and “rape” his wife. 

U.S. Attorney Kurt L. Wall praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alan A. Stevens, who serves as Senior Litigation Counsel for the Criminal Division, leads the prosecution.