Albuquerque Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Cyberstalking Multiple Women

ALBUQUERQUE – An Albuquerque man was sentenced to 33 months in federal prison after a pattern of persistent digital harassment targeting multiple women over a nine-month period.

There is no parole in the federal system.

According to court records, between June 2022 and March 2023, Phillip Gonzales, 39, stalked and harassed three women using anonymous texting applications and Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services. Over this nine-month period, Gonzales sent the victims graphic sexual messages, expressed rape fantasies, threatened the victims, and demonstrated knowledge of their personal information.

FBI agents obtained subpoenas for subscriber information for several of the numbers which returned registration IP addresses tied to a residence in Albuquerque, New Mexico. During the time period the crimes were committed, the only people living at this address were Gonzales and his father.

On May 11, 2023, the FBI executed a search warrant at the residence and seized a number of electronic devices.  A review of the devices revealed at least four additional women who were believed to have received messages from Gonzales to include threats of rape and murder.

On September 6, 2023, Gonzales was charged with cyberstalking and remanded to third party custody pending trial. As a condition of his release, Gonzales was strictly limited to one monitored phone and required approval for any device with internet access. Gonzales was later found to be in possession of two unauthorized internet-capable phones which he had used to send unwanted and potentially harassing messages to two women. This violation led the court to revoke his release and order his detention, citing his demonstrated inability to comply with court-ordered restrictions.

Subsequently, Gonzales pleaded guilty to three counts of cyberstalking. Upon his release from prison, Gonzales will be subject to three years of supervised release.

U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Philip Russell, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today.

The FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Natasha Moghadam prosecuted the case.