Man, 28, admits to cyberstalking former classmate at Minnesota State University for four years after she rejected his advances and he used the school's 'silent witness' reporting system to threaten to injure and kidnap her

A Minnesota man has pleaded guilty to cyberstalking after threatening to injure and kidnap a former classmate at Minnesota State University, Mankato who rejected his romantic advances.

Jeffrey Colin Purdy, 28, pleaded guilty on Monday to one count of cyberstalking, US Attorney Erica MacDonald announced.

Purdy was a former classmate of his victim.  

While attending the school the victim repeatedly declined his romantic propositions and she eventually blocked Purdy on her cell phone and social media accounts.

Purdy sent her long letters and emails and would wait in the lobby of her dorm for hours, according to the Mankato Free Press.

Jeffrey Colin Purdy, 28, pleaded guilty on Monday to one count of cyberstalking a former classmate at Minnesota State University, Mankato, who rejected his romantic advances. Pictured left in March and right in undated mugshot

The university first began receiving reports about the woman in 2016 on its online incident reporting website. The initial reports falsely claimed she was causing trouble in the dorms and those reports escalated into threats, some saying the woman would be sexually assaulted.

The Mankato Department of Public Safety requested assistance from the FBI in identifying the sender of the anonymous reports.

On September 15, 2017 the Mankato Department of Public Safety received a complaint from an individual stating she had been receiving harassing emails from Purdy.

Purdy used Mankato State’s Silent Witness Report, an anonymous incident reporting tool, to make frequent, violent threats against the victim from August 30, 2017 through February 21, 2020. Authorities traced the IP address used to make one of those Silent Witness Reports back tp Purdy. A view of Minnesota State University, Mankato's campus above

Between August 30, 2017 and February 20, 2020 Purdy communicated threats to injure and kidnap the woman.

The woman filed a harassment restraining order against Purdy in 2017. That restraining order was extended after she received an anonymous text threatening rape.

He was banned from being on campus through the end of 2019.

Purdy used Mankato State’s Silent Witness Report, an anonymous incident reporting tool, to make frequent, violent threats against the victim from August 30, 2017 through February 21, 2020.

Authorities traced the IP address used to make one of those Silent Witness Reports back to Purdy who admitted on February 20 to sending all those Silent Witness Reports.

He was charged with felony counts of stalking, harassment and threats of violence Tuesday in Blue Earth County District Court. 

In Minnesota, cyberstalking is punishable with fines and jail time if the accused knowingly instills reasonable fear of harm to a person.