A Norwalk woman’s stalker turned out to be her boyfriend posing as her ex, according to police.
Damian Ciborowski, 23, of Norwalk, was arraigned in Stamford Superior Court Monday afternoon on charges of electronic stalking, criminal impersonation, second-degree harassment, false statements, tampering with physical evidence and interfering. But Supervisory Assistant State’s Attorney Suzanne Vieux told the judge far more charges are coming.
“Along with this arrest warrant, additional search warrants were executed. The results the state's waiting for. I would submit to the court, currently he is well undercharged,” Vieux stated.
Ciborowski was arrested Friday, after which police said they seized evidence from his apartment on Merwin Street related to the ongoing investigation.
According to his arrest warrant, the victim and her family received hundreds of harassing and derogatory text messages during a five-month period, beginning in late November—all from unknown fake emails, social media accounts and numbers she believed were her ex. Several of the email addresses began with her ex-boyfriend’s initials, and all the messages referenced her current relationship with Ciborowski or her previous one, the warrant said.
The victim first reported the situation to police on Dec. 31, after she’d received a court-issued restraining order against her ex-boyfriend. She said her current boyfriend, Ciborowski, was also a victim of this behavior.
During a police interview, Ciborowski said he was being harassed by this person through calls, texts and social media, and that “the situation is ‘nonstop’ and it is ruining his life,” the warrant said. Ciborowski told police he believed his girlfriend’s ex was following him, and Ciborowski wanted to press charges against the man, per the warrant. Ciborowski provided a sworn written statement to police and further claimed the man was contacting members of Ciborowski’s family via social media and text, according to the warrant.
The warrant said police reached out to the ex who, “emphatically denied any and all alleged communication” with the victim or Ciborowski. He also said he was shocked and confused when he was served with a restraining order on Dec. 29 since he hadn’t had contact with the woman since Nov. 26.
According to warrant, the harassing messages continued in January, February and March and evolved into threats against the victim and Ciborowski. Police said their investigation linked several of the fake Instagram accounts and email addresses behind the harassment to Ciborowski—including those that sent hateful messages to himself.
After discovering this, police interviewed the victim again, who said she was no longer with Ciborowski, the warrant said. The victim also told police she’d just received a letter postmarked from Pennsylvania, where her ex goes to school, with AI generated images of her naked, Ciborowski naked and Ciborowski’s underage sister with a naked man, the warrant said. The victim said the letter threatened to destroy Ciborowski’s sister’s life and make the images public if the victim didn’t text a number provided, per the warrant. When police asked if Ciborowski had been to Pennsylvania over the past five months, the victim said he claimed he went twice to meet her ex but would always turn off his location when he arrived, the warrant said. She also stated that when the harassment began, she told Ciborowski she was only still talking to him because she felt bad that her ex was harassing him and his family, according to the warrant.
The latest incident occurred on April 30, per the warrant. The victim said she was at a friend’s house when she received a fake Instagram follow request from “look_outside_waiting_11.” According to the warrant, when she clicked on the profile, the bio stated the friend’s address with a winking face emoji and the words, “I am keeping tabs on both of you FOREVER! Neither of you will escape me. Losers. Go to the police again, please!” The victim said she was scared how her location was known, so she and her friend inspected her car and found a magnetic GPS device attached underneath her vehicle, the warrant said.
The victim told police she has altered her entire life due to the harassment, even dropping out college and that she worries she's in danger, the warrant said.
The woman’s ex was arrested in January in connection to the allegations. Those cases were dropped following Ciborowski’s arraignment. News 12 is not identifying him since he is considered a victim as well.
The judge set Ciborowski’s bond at $250,000 and ruled it can only be posted at the courthouse after a hearing on nonfinancial conditions of release. She also issued a protective order barring Ciborowski from contact with the woman.
He’s due back in court June 23.