Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and John V. Gillies, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, announced the April 12, 2012 indictment of defendant Skylar Ian Feuerstein, 19, of Port St. Lucie, Florida, on charges of making threatening communications in interstate and foreign commerce, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 875(c), and making extortionate messages in interstate and foreign commerce, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 875(d). The defendant appeared in federal court in Fort Pierce on Friday, April 13, 2012, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Frank J. Lynch, Jr, and was ordered detained pending trial. If convicted of the charges, Feuerstein faces a maximum statutory term of imprisonment of 5 years on the charges of making threatening messages, and not more than 2 years on the extortion count.

According to the allegations in the indictment and statements made in court, in October 2010, Feuerstein began communicating online with a young woman living in London, England. The two communicated by email, social networking sites, and webcam. By the end of 2011, the woman tried to end the communication. Feuerstein, however, continued to email her and threatened to harm her and her family.

In January 2012, the victim contacted the Metropolitan Police in London to complain of the defendant’s continued threats to her, her family, and her coworkers. British authorities asked the FBI for assistance in Florida. In February, 2012, FBI special agents visited the defendant at his home in Port St. Lucie, and advised him to stop. He did not, and the victim continued to receive email threats into March 2012. Some of the emails contained death threats with subject titles such as “I will kill you” or “I will kill you and your family.”

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the FBI. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Theodore Cooperstein.

An indictment is only an accusation, and a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

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A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.