Minneapolis Man Sentenced to 60 Months in Prison for Cyberstalking

ST. PAUL, Minn. – A Minneapolis man was sentenced today to 60 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for cyberstalking, announced Acting United States Attorney Charles J. Kovats.

According to court documents, from 2014 through 2021, Jeffrey Colin Purdy, 30 harassed, intimidated, and threatened Victim A after she declined his romantic advances and asked him to stop contacting her. Specifically, on September 15, 2017, the Mankato Department of Public Safety received a complaint from an individual stating that she had been receiving harassing emails from Purdy, a former classmate from Minnesota State University, Mankato (“Mankato State”). While attending Mankato State, the victim declined repeated romantic advances from Purdy and eventually blocked Purdy from her cellular telephone and social media accounts. From August 30, 2017, through February 21, 2020, Purdy used Mankato State’s Silent Witness Report, an anonymous incident reporting tool, to make frequent and violent threats against the victim. An IP address used to make one of the Silent Witness Reports was traced back to Purdy.

Purdy pleaded guilty on August 24, 2020, to one count of cyberstalking. He was sentenced today by U.S. District Court Judge Susan Richard Nelson.

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI and the Mankato Department of Public Safety, with assistance from the Blue Earth County Attorney’s Office.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily A. Polachek prosecuted the case.

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