Warning: This article contains discussion of stalking which some users may find distressing to read.
A cyberstalker was arrested after travelling almost 2,500 miles to procure ‘a date’ with a young girl that he'd seen on YouTube.
In 2022, Timothy Nielsen, 45, left his home town of Gresham, Oregon, and journeyed to Brunswick, Ohio, to meet a girl whose videos he had watched on YouTube.
It’s said that when the girl was just six-years old, he came across her arts and crafts clips and began to comment ‘inappropriately’ on them - causing her parents to shut down the social media channel.
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Despite believing there was ‘no risk’ to their daughter as Nielson was too far away, the man eventually travelled to their neighborhood and told police officers he was ‘trying to get a date’ with the child.
Speaking to News 5 Cleveland about the incident, Brunswick Police’s LT Robert Safran said: “Mr Nielson found his way to Ohio and almost located the girl.”
However, when the kid’s dad came face-to-face with the cyberstalker outside of his house, he knew this was who had been harassing his now-teen child.
“When he saw officers out front with Mr Nielson in custody, that’s when he called our dispatch and relayed ‘I think I know who this gentleman is,” Safran said to the news outlet.
“It was an arts and crafts type channel and Mr Nielson began commenting on the YouTube comments portion and they were in an inappropriate nature.”
But this only prompted Nielson to continue his relentless pursuit of the child on other platforms.
It’s said by police that he'd employed communication methods such as creating fake social media accounts, disguising himself as someone else and trying to contact the girl’s friends.
According to police, Nielsen had figured out the exact neighborhood where the now 12-year-old child lived and decided to travel from Oregon to Ohio.
Following his arrival in the Brunswick area, Nielsen proceeded to knock on doors in a futile attempt to locate the juvenile - which led to several residents calling the cops.
In chilling bodycam footage captured on July 28 2022, Nielsen was spotted roving the streets and questioned by a police officer on why he was trespassing on private property.
“I’m just trying to get a date with a girl on the internet,” he could be heard saying in the video.
“I’ve been after her for five years and I haven’t heard nothing from her.”
The girl’s father then came out of their home and told the attending officer that the man had been ‘harassing his daughter online’.
In response, Nielson began shouting and footage captured him saying: “12’s too old, I was looking for a six-year-old.”
Officials soon arrested Neilson and he was transported to the Medina County Jail.
At the time, he was charged with menacing by stalking and importuning, according to Brunswick Police.
Following a trial, he had been found guilty on three accounts and sentenced to the maximum possible sentence of four and a half years in prison.
“This would’ve ended tragically had the individuals on the street not contacted us to check out a suspicious person call,” added Safran.
Following Nielsen’s sentencing, the victim’s family claimed the charges were ‘not tough enough’ and alleged that they now have an ‘emergency protection order in place’.
“This was not a relationship, there was no back and forth communication, there was never a connection between the two of them,” a spokesperson for the family concluded.
“He locked onto her and despite the protections before and after this happened.”
If you've been affected by any of the issues in this article, you can contact the VictimConnect Resource Center on 1-855-4VICTIM (855-484-2846), available weekdays.
Ella Scott