PITTSBURGH – A South Carolina man has been charged with harassing a Pittsburgh area woman by sending prank messages to restaurants claiming she was being held hostage at her home and needed help.
Federal authorities allege 28-year-old Nathaniel Dunlap of Clover pretended in another hoax message to be a missing college student and claimed he was being held in the woman's basement. Dunlap previously lived in the Pittsburgh area.
He pleaded not guilty Friday to cyberstalking and identity theft charges.
Prosecutors did not say why Dunlap allegedly targeted the woman, who is identified only by her initials in the indictment. Court documents also did not say how police responded to each of the hostage messages.