Pittsburgh Man Indicted on Cyberstalking Charge

PITTSBURGH, Pa. - A resident of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on a cyberstalking charge, United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan, announced today.

The Indictment named Daniel Marsico, 37, as the sole defendant.

According to the Indictment, over the course of three and a half years, Marsico harassed, threatened, and intimidated his ex-girlfriend, Person 1, by stalking her through text messages, phone calls, online, and in person. The Indictment alleges: after their relationship ended in 2020, Marsico messaged Person 1 persistently, continuing even after Person 1 obtained a court order (a Pennsylvania Protection from Abuse Order, or PFA) against him and after he was arrested. Marsico’s messages threatened Person 1, threatened her employment, and threatened other people in her life. He produced surreptitious, lewd, and embarrassing images of Person 1 and used those images to create fake social media accounts in her name. Marsico also posted about Person 1 on other internet websites. During the course of his criminal conduct, Marsico physically assaulted Person 1’s ex-boyfriend. He came to Person 1’s home uninvited multiple times, placing her in fear and forcing her to seek safety elsewhere. Marsico kicked in Person 1’s door, caused other damage to her home, and threatened to dismantle her security cameras. He surveilled her home and messaged her the license plate numbers of cars he thought were visiting her. When Person 1 blocked Marsico’s phone number, he called and messaged her using anonymous means. When Person 1 sought the assistance of law enforcement, Marsico escalated his threats and asserted that he would never be convicted of stalking her. Marsico’s course of conduct placed Person 1 in reasonable fear of death and serious bodily injury and caused Person 1 substantial emotional distress.

The law provides for a maximum total sentence of not less than one but not more than five 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 Nicole Vasquez Schmitt is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Scott Township Police 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.