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Accused stalker created fake Craigslist ad offering room in woman’s home, feds say

A 27-year-old man pleaded guilty to cyberstalking and stalking charges on Aug. 31, 2022, in Los Angeles. He’s accused of harassing two sisters in 2020 and cyberstalking a 15-year-old.
A 27-year-old man pleaded guilty to cyberstalking and stalking charges on Aug. 31, 2022, in Los Angeles. He’s accused of harassing two sisters in 2020 and cyberstalking a 15-year-old. Getty Images/iStockphoto

A 27-year-old man accused of stalking created a Craigslist ad for a room in a woman’s home after she refused to speak to him, prosecutors said.

Alex Scott Roberts of Chatsworth, California, pleaded guilty to cyberstalking and stalking charges, the U.S. Attorney’s Office Central District for California said in a news release on Wednesday, Aug. 31.

Roberts is accused of sending threatening messages to a woman and her sister from July 29, 2020, to Aug. 18, 2020, that included messages about raping and killing the two, prosecutors said in a plea agreement.

Attorneys for Roberts did not immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment.

Roberts created a fake Craigslist ad that offered a room for rent in the woman’s home after the woman and her family told him she no longer wanted to communicate with him, the plea agreement says.

The listing included the woman’s name, address and “room for rent ... Will explain upon visit. Stop by anytime home is open,” documents show.

Roberts then made threats to the woman, her sister and a friend that he would send the woman’s naked photos and send a person to rape her and her sister, according to the plea agreement. He also threatened to kill the woman and her family, documents show.

In one message to the woman’s sister, Roberts wrote that he had a sniper positioned outside their home who would kill them, according to court documents.

Roberts is also accused of cyberstalking a 15-year-old girl who lived in Georgia in June of 2020 by saying he would send naked photos of her to her parents if she didn’t send him more images, court documents show.

He faces a maximum sentence of five years for each count. He will be sentenced on Dec. 16.

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This story was originally published September 1, 2022 at 6:30 PM with the headline "Accused stalker created fake Craigslist ad offering room in woman’s home, feds say."

Helena Wegner
McClatchy DC
Helena Wegner is a McClatchy National Real-Time Reporter covering the state of Washington and the western region. She’s a journalism graduate from Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. She’s based in Phoenix.