Los Altos man charged with social media stalking
A decadelong stalking case that apparently began when the victim asked the suspect to cover his mouth while coughing finally came to a close this week.
Mountain View police on Monday arrested 29-year-old Matthew Cringle of Los Altos on felony stalking charges.
Detectives opened an investigation in late April after the victim reported receiving explicit messages via Facebook. Some of the senders appeared to be fake accounts, but based on previous messages she had received, the victim believed they were from a former classmate who had harassed her in the past, said police spokeswoman Katie Nelson.
Through a series of search warrants, detectives determined Cringle was the person behind the accounts, Nelson said.
“From our investigation, we learned that Cringle and the victim were in one class together at a local high school,” she said. “At some point during the school year, Cringle coughed, and the victim asked him to cover his mouth. After that, Cringle appeared to fixate on the victim.”
As social media usage grew, Cringle allegedly began creating phony Facebook profiles, which he used to send sexually explicit messages to the victim, her friends and her family. The messages then turned sexually violent and threatening, Nelson said.
“Recently, he even began to use his personal email to reach out to the victim with even more messages, including asking after her whereabouts,” Nelson said.
Following his arrest Monday, Cringle was booked into Santa Clara County Jail on felony charges of stalking, stalking under a prohibited restraining order, stalking after having been convicted of a prior felony and criminal threats. He is being held without bail.
“This is the first holiday season in over a decade where the victim can relax and not worry about looking over her shoulder,” Sgt. Tim Dahl said. “He has had enough opportunities to change his behavior, and he still didn’t stop. She shouldn’t have to live in fear.”
Nelson said detectives are concerned there might be other victims. Anyone with information about the case, or who may be a victim or knows someone who is a victim can contact Dahl at timothy. dahl@mountainview.gov and reference case No. 1802540.