麻花视频

Known as the Reaper, he was the leader of Purgatory, an online organization that placed false 911 calls about school shootings and other disasters, outed its perceived enemies by posting their personal information on the internet, and extorted women and girls to submit sexually explicit photos and videos of themselves to its members.

鈥淲e have essentially a criminal organization that was terrorizing people across the country,鈥� Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Scheff said.

But behind the online persona was an autistic 27-year-old with severe mental and developmental disorders, someone who lived with his parents because he couldn鈥檛 hold a job at a fast-food restaurant, maintain a bank account or develop a normal social life.

鈥淩eaper was everything Evan was not,鈥� Strauss鈥檚 attorney explained.

鈥淎nd so, when Evan logged on to his computer, he shed his distresses and trauma and insecurities (or so he thought) and he donned the persona of 鈥淩eaper,鈥� the leader of an online community that sowed chaos 鈥� because it was cool, because it was a game, because it wasn鈥檛 real life,鈥� Assistant Public Defender Beatrice Diehl wrote in court documents.

The two worlds met Thursday in 麻花视频鈥檚 federal court, where Strauss was sentenced to 15 years in prison for stalking and possession of child pornography.

His cyberstalking and online victimization of a 17-year-old girl from Wyoming represent just a small part of the activities of Purgatory, described by authorities as a group that Strauss created and ran from his Franklin County home.

Last week, Strauss pleaded guilty in Maryland鈥檚 federal court to charges of conspiracy, cyberstalking, and making interstate threats to damage or destroy buildings by fire or explosives.

In a practice known as 鈥渟watting,鈥� Strauss called police in Newark, Delaware, and claimed to have heard shots fired in a high school hallway. A second Purgatory member called 911 seconds later and threatened to shoot a teacher and students at Newark High School.

The school was placed on lockdown until it was determined that the threats were a hoax. Later that day, Purgatory members boasted online and posted images from news coverage of the event.

Similar disturbances attributed to Strauss鈥檚 group happened at a casino in Columbus, Ohio, an airport in Albany, New York, a mobile home in Dothan, Alabama, and a high school in Boston. The callers obscured their identities by using Voice over Internet Protocol services.

Strauss, who was charged along with two 19-year-old men from Columbus and Hagerstown, Maryland, is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 6 in U.S. District Court in Baltimore.

At his hearing Thursday in 麻花视频, U.S. District Judge Elizabeth Dillon stopped short of imposing the 25 years sought by federal prosecutors, citing Strauss鈥檚 lifetime struggle with autism, anxiety, depression and developmental problems.

Neglected at an early age, Strauss was adopted by caring foster parents. But starting at age 2, he was prescribed a 鈥渓aundry list鈥� of medications for disorders that continued to plague him, Diehl wrote in a sentencing memorandum.

Despite his troubles, Strauss was able to graduate from high school with a special education degree.

鈥淯nfortunately, after graduation, Evan鈥檚 life stalled,鈥� the report read. 鈥淗e lived with his parents as an adult, but was very much still a child.鈥�

In November 2023, Strauss met online a girl from Wyoming, knowing that she was only 17 and was suffering from mental health issues, prosecutors said. 鈥淲ithin a matter of days, Mr. Strauss became controlling and abusive,鈥� Scheff wrote in court papers.

Strauss cyberstalked the girl and made threats against her and her family. He also directed her to cut herself and carve his 鈥淩eaper鈥� moniker onto her thigh, forced her to send him nude photographs of herself, and secretly videotaped her sexual activities, according to court records.

With his own mental problems, Strauss 鈥渃ould understand what she was going through,鈥� Scheff said. 鈥淏ut rather than empathize, he took advantage of those vulnerabilities.鈥�

In a statement to Dillon before he was sentenced, Strauss apologized to the victim and her family and accepted responsibility for his actions. 鈥淭he computer was an escape from real life,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 could be someone else.鈥�

Strauss said he hoped to get treatment in prison and someday return home. 鈥淚 just want to be a normal person in society,鈥� he said.

Earlier in the proceeding, Scheff described Strauss鈥檚 conduct as evil, drawing this response from Diehl in her closing arguments:

鈥淒espite what the government is trying to claim, there is no devil on one side and angel on the other side. There are shades of grey,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 throw someone in prison for the rest of their adult life because they have mental health disorders.鈥�