A Pennsylvania man is accused of using a drone to stalk five teenage girls more than 120 times, local news outlets report.
Michael Brackman, 44, of Canonsburg, was charged June 11 with numerous counts of stalking, possession of an instrument of crime, harassment, and unlawful use of a manned aircraft, court records show.
Brackman is scheduled to be formally arraigned Aug 29, according to court records.
A 13-year-old victim told authorities a drone followed her almost any time she left the house, estimating it happened as many as 90 times, the Observer-Reporter reported, citing charging documents.
Shortly after an adult in her home pointed a gun at the drone to deter the behaviour, they found a letter on their door saying it was a crime to point a gun at a drone, dissuading the family from reporting the activity to police, the outlet reported.
The family eventually moved due to the stalking, WPVI and WPXI reported.
Another victim told police she’d seen the drone outside of her bedroom window, WPVI reported.
“That was a hobby of his,” Brackman’s attorney, Bruce Carsia, said of his client’s drone usage in an interview with WTAE at a preliminary hearing.
“He was on house arrest, he couldn’t go out, so he was flying the drone, and they felt threatened,” Carsia said. “It will be for a later date for somebody to make that decision whether they were threatened or not.”
Police said other girls and their families reported receiving sexual notes and seeing flyers posted around their neighbourhoods with pictures of kids taken with Brackman’s drone, WPXI reported.
Brackman is being held at the Washington County prison on US$10,000 (RM46,775) bail, court records show.
Canonsburg is about a 20-mile drive southwest from Pittsburgh. – The Charlotte Observer/Tribune News Service
