Hagerstown man gets prison time for relentless and vicious cyberstalking of ex-girlfriend

(Derik Wayne Bowers booking photo, Image credit: U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of West Virginia)

Back in March 2023, in a stunning case of a Hagerstown, Maryland, man relentlessly cyberstalking his Morgan County, West Virginia, ex-girlfriend, Derik Wayne Bowers, 44, was indicted on one count of stalking by a federal grand jury in Martinsburg, West Virginia. In a case of extreme psychological domestic violence, Bowers reportedly harassed and intimidated his former girlfriend through text messages, phone calls, and via Facebook. This week, the stalker received his due prison sentence.

In December 2022, despite being subject to a protective order, Bowers called his ex-girlfriend 815 times during a 48-hour period, sent her more than 2,000 harassing text messages over a several month period, and used social media posts to embarrass her and interfere with her livelihood while attempting to undermine her online business.

“Cyberstalking is a pervasive problem that we treat very seriously in West Virginia,” said United States Attorney William Ihlenfeld. “I encourage those who are being intimidated online and who suffer substantial emotional distress as a result to file a police report so that wrongdoers may be investigated and held to account.”

On January 9, 2024, after being found guilty of stalking his victim, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of West Virginia announced that the disgruntled ex-boyfriend was to be sentenced to 41 months in federal prison.  Bowers was initially looking at five years behind bars.

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Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today
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