A bail hearing for an alleged cyberstalker was waived in federal court in Rochester today. Thomas Trafficante is accused of harassing his ex-girlfriend online, and also using text messages to terrorize her sorority at SUNY Geneseo.
His attorney says he’s exploring a plea agreement with federal prosecutors.
Police say the 23-year-old Trafficante sent alarming texts from an unknown number to disrupt events at the Sigma Kappa sorority, including that “it’s not safe out there tonight.” The messages went to about a dozen sorority members.
The women reported the threatening messages to police. The FBI found the number had been created through an online service and tracked it back to Trafficante through call records.
Trafficante was not a student at SUNY Geneseo, but had been involved in a tumultuous breakup with one of the sorority members in October. According to “Newsday,” the Long Island man then allegedly mailed a package of cocaine to her address and called police on her. He also posted her contact information on a prostitution site and tried to hack into Geneseo’s computer system to alter her test scores.