District Man Sentenced to Nine Years in Prison For Stalking, Threatening and Posting Sexual Images of Victim

            WASHINGTON - Lamont Delrico Roberts, 46, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to approximately nine years in prison for stalking, threatening, and assaulting a woman, and unlawfully disclosing graphic, sexual images of her, announced U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips and Peter Newsham, Acting Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            This case marked the first trial involving the new “Criminalization of Non-Consensual Pornography Act of 2014” (22 D.C.C. 3052), which became effective on May 7, 2015. The law codifies the offense of “unlawful disclosure” and prohibits the publication or disclosure of naked photos without the consent of the person depicted in them, even if the photos were taken or given to the defendant consensually by the victim.

            A jury found Roberts guilty in November 2016 of five counts of unlawful disclosure, one count of stalking, three counts of making felony threats, and one count of simple assault. The verdict followed a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The Honorable Juliet McKenna sentenced Roberts this morning to a total of 30 months in prison on the unlawful disclosure charges; 12 months on the stalking charge; 66 months on the threats offenses, and one month on the assault charge. Upon completion of his prison term, Roberts will be placed on three years of supervised release. While on supervised release, Roberts will be required to get counseling for domestic violence issues and must stay away from the victim and her family.

            “Lamont Roberts subjected the victim in this case – his ex-girlfriend – to months of threats and harassment. As a result, the victim’s entire life was altered and she felt like she always had to look over her shoulder,” said U.S. Attorney Phillips. “He humiliated the victim by displaying sexually explicit photos of her in public places. This case demonstrates the benefit of a District of Columbia law that expressly prohibits such unlawful disclosures. The law provided our Office with an additional valuable tool to hold Lamont Roberts accountable for his reprehensible acts.”

            According to the government’s evidence, Roberts and the victim were romantically involved for about four years. During the course of their relationship, Roberts became controlling, often dictating to the victim what she could wear and with whom she could spend time. The victim finally ended the relationship in May 2015.

            However, Roberts refused to accept that the relationship was over. He telephoned and texted the victim hundreds of times a day and showed up unannounced and uninvited at her job and home countless times. At a certain point, Roberts learned that the victim was romantically involved with someone new and consequently, his behavior escalated dramatically. Roberts began leaving threatening voicemails and texts on the victim’s phone in which he threatened to kill or hurt the victim and her family, he tattooed the victim’s face on his back, and he persistently followed the victim, often holding up graphic, sexual images of the victim that the two had taken during their relationship.

            When the victim changed her phone numbers so that Roberts could no longer text her, he emailed her, threatening to share the graphic images with her children, mother, and the rest of the world. Roberts followed through on these threats over the course of October 2015, and posted these images, along with the victim’s name, on her car, her front door, and throughout her neighborhood. Roberts also continued to stalk the victim with these photos in hand. The victim managed to photograph Roberts holding up the graphic images in public places, such as at her workplace and on the street. In fact, the victim photographed Roberts in one instance, when he stood in front of her car holding the image up and in another instance, as he drove by her with the graphic photo hanging out the window of his car.

            In an unrelated case, Roberts was sentenced in November 2016 to six years in prison on a drug distribution charge. Roberts pled guilty in August 2016 to distribution of cocaine in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. According to the government’s evidence in that case, Roberts repeatedly sold crack cocaine in quantities that suggested it would be re-distributed. His sentence in this federal case will run consecutively to the sentence imposed today.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Phillips and Acting Chief Newsham commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. They acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Patricia A. Riley and Renata Cooper, Special Counsels to the U.S. Attorney; Paralegal Specialists Donhue Troy Griffith, T. J. McPhail, and Angelina Slagle; David Foster, La June Thames, Tracey Hawkins, Tracy Owuso, and Meshall Thomas, all of the Victim/Witness Assistance Unit; Litigation Technology Specialists Ron Royal and Aneela Bhatia, and former Interns Molly Lovell and Wendy Acquazzino. They also commended the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorney Nihar Mohanty, who prosecuted the narcotics case in the U.S. District Court.

            Finally, they expressed appreciation for the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jessica Brooks and Youli Lee, who investigated and prosecuted the case.