Teh One Who Knocks
04-08-2021, 10:55 AM
WCVB ABC 5
https://i.imgur.com/fZ7KA6Yl.jpg
A former track and field coach who worked at several universities is accused of tricking female student-athletes into sending him nude photos and cyberstalking at least one student-athlete.
Steve Waithe, 28, of Chicago, was charged by criminal complaint with one count of cyberstalking and one count of wire fraud.
Waithe worked as a track and field coach at Northeastern University in Boston from October 2018 to February 2019. It is alleged that during that time, Waithe frequently requested to use female athletes’ cellphones under the pretense of filming their form at practice and at meets. At times, he was observed “scrolling through” the phones, officials said.
Waithe allegedly engaged in a scheme to dupe female Northeastern University track and field athletes into sending him nude or semi-nude photos of themselves.
Waithe contacted the alleged victims through social media accounts, said he had found compromising photos of them online and offered to “help” get the photos removed from the internet. He allegedly asked for additional nude or semi-nude photos that he could purportedly use for “reverse image searches.”
Officials allege he also cyberstalked one female Northeastern student-athlete through messages sent via social media, an anonymized phone number and intrusion into her Snapchat account.
Under the premise of an “athlete research” or “body development” study, it is alleged that Waithe emailed prospective victims using the personas of “Katie Janovich” and/or “Kathryn Svoboda.”
The emails described a phony study for athletes and requested information relating to height, weight and diet habits, officials allege. The emails also included a request for the victims to send photos of themselves in a “uniform or bathing suit to show as much skin as possible” and suggested that the photos would not be shared or saved, officials allege.
The emails often included attachments of sample nude and semi-nude images of “Katie” to illustrate the types of photos that victims should send. According to court documents, investigators have identified more than 10 victims of the “body development study” scheme and over 300 related nude and semi-nude images of victims of the scheme in Waithe’s email accounts.
Waithe previously worked as a track and field coach at several academic institutions, including Penn State University, Illinois Institute of Technology, University of Tennessee and Concordia University Chicago.
Waithe was arrested Wednesday in Chicago and is scheduled to make an initial appearance in federal court in the Northern District of Illinois this afternoon. He will appear in Boston at a later date.
https://i.imgur.com/fZ7KA6Yl.jpg
A former track and field coach who worked at several universities is accused of tricking female student-athletes into sending him nude photos and cyberstalking at least one student-athlete.
Steve Waithe, 28, of Chicago, was charged by criminal complaint with one count of cyberstalking and one count of wire fraud.
Waithe worked as a track and field coach at Northeastern University in Boston from October 2018 to February 2019. It is alleged that during that time, Waithe frequently requested to use female athletes’ cellphones under the pretense of filming their form at practice and at meets. At times, he was observed “scrolling through” the phones, officials said.
Waithe allegedly engaged in a scheme to dupe female Northeastern University track and field athletes into sending him nude or semi-nude photos of themselves.
Waithe contacted the alleged victims through social media accounts, said he had found compromising photos of them online and offered to “help” get the photos removed from the internet. He allegedly asked for additional nude or semi-nude photos that he could purportedly use for “reverse image searches.”
Officials allege he also cyberstalked one female Northeastern student-athlete through messages sent via social media, an anonymized phone number and intrusion into her Snapchat account.
Under the premise of an “athlete research” or “body development” study, it is alleged that Waithe emailed prospective victims using the personas of “Katie Janovich” and/or “Kathryn Svoboda.”
The emails described a phony study for athletes and requested information relating to height, weight and diet habits, officials allege. The emails also included a request for the victims to send photos of themselves in a “uniform or bathing suit to show as much skin as possible” and suggested that the photos would not be shared or saved, officials allege.
The emails often included attachments of sample nude and semi-nude images of “Katie” to illustrate the types of photos that victims should send. According to court documents, investigators have identified more than 10 victims of the “body development study” scheme and over 300 related nude and semi-nude images of victims of the scheme in Waithe’s email accounts.
Waithe previously worked as a track and field coach at several academic institutions, including Penn State University, Illinois Institute of Technology, University of Tennessee and Concordia University Chicago.
Waithe was arrested Wednesday in Chicago and is scheduled to make an initial appearance in federal court in the Northern District of Illinois this afternoon. He will appear in Boston at a later date.