Former Navy captain sentenced for cyberstalking his ex-girlfriend

The former commander of the San Diego-based warship Pearl Harbor was sentenced Friday to three years and one month in federal prison following his conviction for cyberstalking an ex-girlfriend by creating fake online accounts in her name and posting photos. private to embarrass her. federal prosecutors said.

Navy Capt. Theodore Essenfeld, 53, was convicted by a federal jury in San Diego of identity theft for using the victim’s name and date of birth without authorization to create fake accounts.

The verdicts, reached in July, followed a four-day trial in which prosecutors showed evidence of what they said in court documents was “Essenfeld’s calculated and extensive 15-month campaign” to use imposter Facebook and LinkedIn accounts.

“Viewing this conduct as a single 15-month campaign understates the atrocity of Essenfeld’s conduct,” prosecutors wrote in their sentencing memorandum. “This conduct cumulatively involved dozens, if not hundreds, of individual decisions and actions.”

Essesnfeld’s attorney, Kerry Armstrong, told the Union-Tribune that he was disappointed with the sentence and instead hoped for a served sentence and probation. He said Essenfield intends to appeal the verdicts.

“He definitely made a major error in judgment regarding his actions in this case, but we do not believe his conduct was criminal in nature,” Armstrong said. “He has proudly served his country for 34 years in the Navy, and it would be a real shame if his incredibly successful career ended this way.”

Essenfeld had several notable assignments in the Navy, including serving as commanding officer of Pearl Harbor from 2016 to 2018. In court papers, Armstrong said his client “was just weeks away from taking command of the USS San Diego (a ship of amphibious landing) when he was arrested” in the cyberbullying case.

San Diego U.S. Attorney Tara McGrath said in a news release that the sentencing “marks the end of this perpetrator’s reign of cyber terror.”

“Cyberbullying is not just a nuisance or a harmless prank; “It is a serious crime with devastating consequences,” McGrath said. “The torment this victim endured has deeply impacted her life, and those who think they can hide behind a screen should know that justice will prevail.”

According to the sentencing document filed by prosecutors, Essenfeld and the victim met while both were living locally and continuing a long-distance relationship after Essenfeld was transferred to an assignment in Colorado.

After a bad patch and a reconciliation, prosecutors alleged, Essenfeld opened fraudulent email accounts using the victim’s personal information and then used those accounts to register fake Facebook and LinkedIn profiles in the victim’s name.

After they broke up, the postings intensified, prosecutors said. He allegedly posed as her, sometimes including her hometown, her college and her actual work history, and interacted in dating groups, “soliciting sexual interest from men,” prosecutors said. They said he posted private photos and explicit content, and also purchased a burner phone to link to the account.

“Each step was a unique and calculated act in furtherance of Essenfeld’s goal to punish and hurt (the victim) for their breakup,” they alleged.

Esssenfeld was first charged in early 2023. Prosecutors said that while Essenfeld was out of custody awaiting trial, he created “fan club” accounts on social media with the victim’s name, photographs and personal information. Prosecutors pointed to U.S. District Judge Robert Huie, who ordered his arrest about a month before trial.

At Friday’s sentencing, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Huie acknowledged the victim’s ordeal and praised her “courage and strength to move forward.”