Navy Officer Charged In Federal Court With Cyberstalking Ex-Wife

GREENBELT, MD — An active-duty commissioned officer in the U.S. Navy faces multiple federal charges of cyberstalking his ex-wife, according to a U.S. Department of Justice release.

A federal criminal complaint filed on Monday charged 42-year-old Michael Leidel and 43-year-old Sarah Elizabeth Sorg, both residents of Silver Spring, with aggravated identity theft, fraud related to a protected computer, cyberstalking and conspiracy to commit cyberstalking, according to court documents.

Leidel has been a member of the military since 2003, first in the U.S. Air Force and then in the Navy. He married his wife in 2005 and the couple had two children, according to an affidavit.

While serving on active duty, Leidel was accepted in 2017 into the Ph.D. program at the Uniformed Services University for the Health Sciences in Bethesda, and reported to the assignment in June 2018, according to the affidavit. Leidel and his wife separated the following August, and she returned to Virginia Beach with the couple's two children.

In the criminal complaint, Leidel's ex-wife said that he had engaged in an extensive and ongoing scheme to harass her. This included interfering with court proceedings in connection with domestic relations issues and fraud in Montgomery County, Maryland and Virginia Beach, Virginia.

The criminal complaint also claims that Leidel used spoofed and fraudulent phone numbers and email accounts to create fake communications, which caused criminal charges to be filed against his ex-wife. He was also accused of creating similar communications that portrayed his ex-wife as being mentally unstable, with the intention of gaining custody of the two minor children and deprive his ex-wife of her retirement accounts and pension as part of their divorce agreement.

Sorg, who shares her home with Leidel, was aware of information about the multiple fraudulent online accounts Leidel was using to harass his ex-wife, according to court documents. She also continued to assist Leidel in harassing the victim, as well as interfering with court proceedings and perpetuating fraud on courts in both Montgomery County and Virginia Beach, according to the criminal complaint.

If Leidel and Sorg are found guilty, they face a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison for conspiracy to commit cyberstalking and for cyberstalking. They would also face a mandatory sentence of two years in federal prison, consecutive to any other sentence imposed, for aggravated identity theft. In addition, they would face one year in federal prison related to the charge involving a protected computer, according to court documents