William Elschlager, the former Ohio State Highway Patrol Marietta Post Commander was arrested this past Wednesday afternoon and is facing charges of criminal complaint with cyberstalking and deprivation of rights under color of law.
Yesterday was Elschlager's initial appearance in federal court before U.S. Magistrate Judge Terrence P. Kemp.
Elschlager had been with the Ohio State Highway Patrol for approximately 19 years and was allegedly engaged in a sexual affair with a fellow Ohio State Highway Patrol Trooper's wife in the months between April and September of 2015.
According to the report, the victim said that Elschlager was "creepy" and specifically speaking, according to the victim, she found a ball of hair in his home which he said he made using hair he found in his home and the victim believed it to be her own.
The victim also stated that she allegedly found folders containing names of women and photographs taken from their social media accounts. She reportedly also found a folder labeled with her name containing pictures with her husband cut out.
The press release also says the victim would awake to Elschlager taking pictures of her while she slept without the knowledge of him being in the home in the first place.
The reported stalking began in October of 2015 after the relationship was ended. It reportedly began when Elschlager would follow the victim's car and later reports say that a GPS tracker was placed on the vehicle. Elschlager allegedly told the victim that he had named her and her son on his life insurance policey using information he obtained from the file of the victim's husband.
The search warrants also found GPS tracking software on Elschlager's personal cellphone, video recordings and photographs taken through the window of the victim's residence. Deputies also found law enforcement information and photographs from drivers licenses of 10 females stored on Elschlager's computer. These 10 females were interviewed and confirmed that they were stopped by an Ohio State Highway Patrol Trooper on the dates of the pictures.
Up to five years in prison is the punishment for cyberstalking. Deprivation of rights under color of law has a potential maximum sentence of one year.
Preliminary hearings are set for June 8th in Columbus.
Assistant United States Attorney Jessica H. Kim will be prosecuting the case.
