Everett, Washington, man sentenced to 6 years in prison for cyberstalking and interstate threats

Seattle –A 42-year-old Everett, Washington, man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 6 years in prison and three years of supervised release for cyberstalking and making interstate threats, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman. Christopher Scott Crawford was found guilty of an unrelenting campaign of online cyberstalking, threats, and harassment against a former romantic partner after a trial in U.S. District Court in Seattle in June of 2023. At the sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge James L. Robart said, “The conduct that was the subject of trial was extraordinary…Concerning your respect for the law, you left behind a series of no contact and protection orders which you had no difficulty ignoring.”

“No one should have to experience cyberstalking and harassment ever. Crawford created an environment of constant fear and anxiety for the victim for three years,” said Acting U.S. Attorney, Tessa M. Gorman. “The abuse was unrelenting, and I am glad that our office and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service were able to work together to put a stop to it.”

According to records filed in the case, Crawford repeatedly violated court ordered restraining orders by sending threats by text, email, social media messages, and phone calls. Crawford sent threatening communications to various people associated with the victim in this case, such as parents, coworkers, siblings, and court-mandated professionals. The harassment included posting intimate pictures of the victim on a website and circulating private information about the victim to others. Crawford repeatedly stated to the victim and others that he wanted to make her life so miserable that she would take her own life.

In arguing for a sentence of five years before the court, Assistant U.S. Attorney, Cecelia Gregson said, “For three long years, the Defendant doggedly harassed, intimidated, psychologically harmed, socially harmed, professionally harmed, and financially harmed the victim. The intentions driving his maniacal persistence were to cause the victim to commit suicide or to create an atmosphere through cyber warfare that drew in other malevolent souls to do his bidding whether that be rape, torture, or murder.”

The matter was investigated by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS).

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Cecelia Gregson and Elyne Vaught.