UCF alumna still worried after cyber stalker’s sentencing

UCF alumna Kristen Pratt never thought she would be the victim of cyber stalking. Then, she met now 24-year-old Patrick Macchione.

Pratt recently appeared on Good Morning America to talk about the ordeal.

"I thought it would be a good way to help other people in this situation because I knew I wasn't the only one going through this," Pratt said.

It all started two years ago when Pratt, a sophomore philosophy, religion and pop culture major, received a Facebook message from Macchione. He said he knew her from a dual enrollment class they had taken together.

"At first they [the messages] were friendly, you know, a former high school student trying to find another former high school student," Pratt said. "Then, it got really weird and disturbing."

A couple of messages into their conversation, Pratt said Macchione told her she was a "strong girl." Pratt said she didn't know how to react, but replied that it was good to have someone in her corner, and Macchione became angry and said that he was not in her corner and did not even like her.

Pratt said she stopped responding to Macchione's messages, but his messages kept coming. He began to make YouTube videos addressing Pratt that he would send to her friends, asking them to tell Pratt to watch the videos. He also contacted Pratt via Twitter. Macchione's YouTube videos have been removed, but two of his Twitter accounts remain active.

Pratt started receiving phone calls from Macchione. After she received 30-40 phone calls during one shift at her job, she decided to try to get help from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the UCF Police and Victim Services.

"There's really not much they can really do," Pratt said. "I had somebody from Victim Services try and help me. When it comes to cyber stalking or anything that has to do with the Internet, laws and stuff like that haven't really caught up. There's only so much they can do."

The police told Pratt that if Macchione doesn't know where she lives or how to get to her, there was nothing they could do.

"It's not the police's fault, but I learned later that there possibly was something they could do. They just didn't want to," she said. "As far as the UCF police though, I think they did as much as they could."

Pratt said she sometimes saw Macchione on campus, and she notified the police. Sgt. Troy Williamson of the UCF Police Department said he was the officer who gave Macchione the trespass warning to not come on the UCF campus or affiliated housing areas.

"I knew of the issues going on and knew that this person was a person who should not be on campus because of what had been alleged, so I went ahead and issued a trespass warning for this ongoing investigation," he said.

Williamson said that if someone is a victim of a cyber stalker, they should send a clear warning that communication is unwanted and then cease all communication. He also said that the victim should print out proof of the cyber stalking and file a report with the appropriate agency.

Williamson said that once a cyber stalker starts to physically stalk someone, the victim is able to file a restraining order or injunction.

Patrick Van Dyke, an advocate for UCF Victim Services, said cyber stalking cases can often be tricky because it takes place online. He said cyber stalking has become more prevalent than stalking.

"If it's a legal problem and they're being cyber stalked, we can help them contact with police. A lot of what we do is also safety planning, and what we would do is we would kind of put down what you should consider taking down," Van Dyke said. "It's always up to them, but we just point out some tips that we have to keep yourself more secure online."

After Pratt found out Macchione had learned where she worked, she was able to get an injunction against Macchione. He continued to message her and make videos. After Macchione appeared at her job, Pratt called the police and a warrant was issued for Macchione's arrest.

On Sept. 19, 2009, Seminole County Sheriff Sgt. Mark Conway arrested Macchione for loitering and prowling at Northgate Lakes. Pratt said Conway asked Macchione why he was there.