Description: Nashville, Tennessee criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with cyberstalking.


In February 2021, Dominic Lambert, age 24, of PLano, Texas, met a young woman, identified by her initials M.H.P., when the two were both undergraduate students at Vanderbilt University. The two became friends, but when M.H.P. declined Lambert’s romantic interest he became obsessed with her. From December 2021 to December 2022, Lambert repeatedly sent text messages, e-mail messages, social media messages, and made phone calls, to M.H.P. and her family and friends.

Also according to court documents, in October 2022, an order of protection was issued in state court, which Lambert violated three separate times, once by sending M.H.P. over 70 consecutive emails and another for calling M.H.P 55 times from the Davidson County Jail.

If convicted, Lambert faces a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison.

This case was investigated by the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brooke K. Schiferle is prosecuting the case.

Indictment 11/15/2023: 18:2261A(2)(A) and (B) and 18:2261(b) Cyberstalking
(1)

(a) Offenses.—
(1) Travel or conduct of offender.—
A person who travels in interstate or foreign commerce or enters or leaves Indian country or is present within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States with the intent to kill, injure, harass, or intimidate a spouse, intimate partner, or dating partner, and who, in the course of or as a result of such travel or presence, commits or attempts to commit a crime of violence against that spouse, intimate partner, or dating partner, shall be punished as provided in subsection (b).
(2) Causing travel of victim.—
A person who causes a spouse, intimate partner, or dating partner to travel in interstate or foreign commerce or to enter or leave Indian country by force, coercion, duress, or fraud, and who, in the course of, as a result of, or to facilitate such conduct or travel, commits or attempts to commit a crime of violence against that spouse, intimate partner, or dating partner, shall be punished as provided in subsection (b).
(b) Penalties.—A person who violates this section or section 2261A shall be fined under this title, imprisoned—
(1) for life or any term of years, if death of the victim results;
(2) for not more than 20 years if permanent disfigurement or life threatening bodily injury to the victim results;
(3) for not more than 10 years, if serious bodily injury to the victim results or if the offender uses a dangerous weapon during the offense;
(4) as provided for the applicable conduct under chapter 109A if the offense would constitute an offense under chapter 109A (without regard to whether the offense was committed in the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States or in a Federal prison); and
(5) for not more than 5 years, in any other case,
or both fined and imprisoned.
(6) Whoever commits the crime of stalking in violation of a temporary or permanent civil or criminal injunction, restraining order, no-contact order, or other order described in section 2266 of title 18, United States Code, shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than 1 year.

Outcome: An indictment is not proof of guilt.

Plaintiff's Experts:

Defendant's Experts:

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