NASHVILLE – Gabryele “Gabby” Watson, 29, was sentenced to 20 months in federal prison today on four counts of cyberstalking, two counts of interstate transmission of threats to kidnap or injure, and two counts of unlawful use of a means of identification, announced Braden H. Boucek, United States Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee.“This defendant, for her own selfish and evil reasons, preyed on the hopes and dreams of a young couple who simply wanted to be parents,” said U.S. Attorney Boucek. “This kind of fraud is devastating to those it affects, it cannot be tolerated, and today’s punishment shows that we will hold those who commit it accountable for their actions.”“Gabryele Watson’s deliberate actions instilled fear in caring people who longed to adopt a child,” said Special Agent in Charge Terence G. Reilly of the FBI Nashville Field Office. “Cyberstalking not only causes panic and anxiety but also leaves victims feeling constantly unsafe and vulnerable. The FBI prioritizes cases involving threats of violence and will always investigate and bring to justice those who use digital platforms to threaten others.”From May to June 2023, Watson cyberstalked a married couple living in the Middle District of Tennessee, who had been trying to adopt a baby for eight years. She assumed the identity of a real 16-year-old in Pennsylvania who was pregnant (Minor Victim 1), obtaining accurate details about Minor Victim 1 and her pregnancy from Minor Victim 1’s social media posts. These included Minor Victim 1’s full name and nickname, her date of birth, her home state, the full name and nickname of Minor Victim 1’s teenaged boyfriend, who was also the baby’s father (Individual A), and details about, and photographs and video recordings depicting, Minor Victim 1’s pregnancy. She obtained photographs and video recordings of Minor Victim 1 and Individual A, including a series of “baby bump” photographs and videos of Minor Victim 1 displaying her pregnant belly at various stages of development. She also obtained sonogram photographs and videos of Minor Victim 1 and Individual A’s unborn baby at various stages of development. Over the next several months, as Minor Victim 1 posted new content on her social media accounts, Watson copied that new content for continued use in her scheme.Posing as Minor Victim 1 and using Minor Victim 1’s real nickname, Watson contacted Victim One online, initially through her social media adoption page and then later through spoofed text messages, spoofed voice phone calls, and e-mail messages using an account the defendant created in Minor Victim 1’s name. In their early conversations, the defendant claimed that she was 16 years old, was facing an unplanned pregnancy, and wanted to give her baby up for adoption. She shared detailed information about her (really, Minor Victim 1) life and elicited similar personal information from Victim One. Watson shared photographs of sonographs of Minor Victim 1’s unborn baby, and repeatedly assured Victim One and Victim Two (Victim One’s husband) that they were going to adopt her baby and encouraged them to share their good news with others. Over time, Watson began to demand that Victims One and Two be available at all hours to respond to her frequent communications and that they purchase baby-related gear and maternity clothing. Watson also repeatedly threatened to cancel the adoption, claimed that “her” baby suffered from various life-threatening health emergencies, and pretended to being stalked and to have disappeared from home. Watson also threatened to abort or injure the unborn baby or to commit suicide while pregnant. Finally, she threatened to kill Victims One and Two.Watson engaged in the same disturbing conduct with Victims Three and Four, another married couple living in the Middle District of Tennessee, when she pretended to be a pregnant 18-year-old living in Arkansas (Victim Five). This time, Watson pretended to be pregnant with high-risk twins…
Source: U.S. Department of Justice