COLUMBUS – A Columbus man has been indicted on charges that he cyberstalked now-Delaware County Sheriff Russell Martin for 17 years after Martin arrested the man for stalking a woman.
A federal grand jury charged William Young on Thursday with one count of using the mail and the internet “to attempt to cause substantial emotional distress and evoke fear of serious bodily injury or death,” a crime punishable by up- to five years in prison and a fine of $250,000, according to a release from U.S. Attorney Benjamin Glassman.
Federal Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Preston Deavers ordered Young detained at a Friday court hearing.
According to court documents Young, now 54, was arrested by Martin and other officers in 1999 for stalking and menacing a Delaware County woman, a crime for which he was subsequently convicted, and that Young began harassing Martin almost immediately and continued for 17 years.
The federal complaint claims that Young created four web pages and sent multiple letters claiming Martin is a “pedophile” and “corrupt cop” to Martin’s wife and family, neighbors, physician, barber, church, pastor and other individuals, and to a variety of county business and government organizations, all in the hope of getting Martin fired or prompt him to commit suicide.
Martin and his wife are identified in the complaint only as “R.M.” and “J.M.” but Martin has reportedly released a statement acknowledging that he was the victim in the complaint.
“Letters varied in length from three to 92 pages, and often included court records related to the 1999 conviction and documents related to civil lawsuits that Young filed against the victim and a fellow officer,” Glassman said.
In a May 2010 interview, Glassman says Young told agents of the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation that he wanted Martin fired and wanted him to “eat his gun.”
Glassman’s office says Young has filed multiple state and federal civil lawsuits against Martin, and another arresting officer from Young’s 1999 arrest, and the Delaware Police Department, over the last 10 years alleging various claims of corruption and fraud.
In September 2015, Young allegedly mailed a 62-page letter to the Martin’s wife in which he vowed to “force his hand if the powers that be make the mistake of coming after me again.”
“Then I’ll take everyone down who had a hand in what was done to me one by one,” the letter allegedly stated
Young was arrested by FBI agents on Tuesday and is scheduled to appear in federal court in Columbus at 11:00 a.m. Friday, Glassman said.