Man sentenced for cyberstalking Parkland mass shooting victim's father

FLORIDA – A California man has been sentenced to prison for cyberstalking the father of a Parkland mass shooting victim.

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James Catalano, 62, of Fresno, California, has been sentenced to 12 months in prison for sending hundreds of harrowing messages to a Florida activist against gun violence whose daughter was murdered during the 2018 mass shooting at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

On March 28, 2023, Catalano pleaded guilty to cyberstalking.

According to the court record, beginning in or around December 2021 and continuing through July 2022, Catalano sent the victim hundreds of disparaging messages, which graphically described the victim’s daughter’s death and focused on the debate surrounding gun control and the victim’s activism against gun violence.

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U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida and Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of the FBI, Miami Field Office, made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Arielle Klepach prosecuted the case.