Self-proclaimed Pittsburgh influencer pleads guilty to stalking 11 women
A self-proclaimed Pittsburgh social media influencer pleaded guilty to stalking 11 different women across multiple states, federal officials said.
Brett Michael Dadig of Whitehall Borough pleaded guilty last week to 11 counts of cyberstalking, interstate stalking, and interstate threats, the United States Attorney's Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania said in a news release. He will be sentenced in July by United States District Judge Marilyn J. Horan. He remains in federal custody ahead of sentencing.
The news release said that the 31-year-old man harassed, threatened, and intimidated the 11 women — who were from Pennsylvania, Ohio, Florida, Iowa and New York — in person, through social media, his podcast, text messages and phone calls. In a news release last year, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Troy Rivetti said Dadig would meet women and stalk them before moving whenever he was reported to law enforcement.
According to the indictment, the 31-year-old took advice from an artificial intelligence chatbot. He said ChatGPT told him that God's plan for him was to build a platform and stand out, the indictment said.
Two of the man's victims, federal officials said, obtained protection from abuse orders against him. However, Dadig violated both orders in person and online, the news release said.
The indictment also stated that Dadig harassed his victims by showing up to their homes and places of business unannounced and uninvited, stalking them, taking and posting photographs of them online without their consent and revealing private details about their lives online.
"Dadig's comments included references to breaking victims' jaws and fingers, dead bodies, burning down gyms, and his victims suffering 'judgment day,'" the news release said.
