FRESNO — Kevin James Strutz, 52, of Ceres, was sentenced Monday to three years and four months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for cyberstalking, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
Strutz was also ordered to pay $1,773 in restitution.
According to U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott and court documents, in February 2020 Strutz secretly made a video recording of a nude female guest who rented a room at his mother’s house on Soda Canyon Drive in Ceres which was made available for rentals through Airbnb. Strutz was living with his mother at the time of the crime and admitted to authorities that he hid the phone in the bathroom to record images of her. He also sent her intimidating and threatening messages over a months’ long span.
The victim – who was a traveling healthcare worker – promptly ended her stay when she discovered a message on a cellphone that Strutz had inadvertently left in a shared bathroom. Airbnb was notified of the crime and broke off ties with the homeowner. Over the next several months, Strutz continued to contact the victim through Facebook accounts, one of which used a false identity. The messages became increasingly aggressive and one included an image of the victim exiting a shower that had been taken without her knowledge or consent at the Airbnb home. Strutz sent the image to her with the threat that if she didn’t send him a sexually explicit video, saying, “Now I’m gonna send the nude pics u sent me of u getting in the shower to all yer contacts.”
Investigators later learned that between September and December 2018, Strutz had also sent a series of electronic messages and handwritten letters to a second female victim. Strutz left 15 handwritten letters on the victim’s vehicle, many of which contained threats designed to coerce the victim into engaging in sexual acts with him. He also sent messages to the victim from five different Facebook accounts and attempted to contact the victim using phone calls and messages.
When the FBI served a search warrant on Nov. 12, 2020 to enter the house, Strutz answered the door but then barricaded himself for hours, hiding in the attic.
Strutz has a criminal history that includes stalking, assault with a deadly weapon, robbery and violating a domestic restraining order.
This case was the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with assistance from the Ceres Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Gappa prosecuted the case.
