A child custody dispute recently took an odd turn when authorities arrested a man who they believed bugged his ex-wife’s vehicle. The arrest was based on information provided by the 29-year-old ex-wife, who created a fake Facebook account in order to dig for information to use against the man in their ongoing child custody dispute.
The ex-wife pretended to be a flirtatious 17-year-old girl and chatted with the man for several weeks. The husband told the purported 17-year-old that he bugged his wife’s car with a GPS device so he could keep track of her movements. The ex-wife then became alarmed when the man told the 17-year-old that he was finding someone to murder his ex-wife.
Authorities arrested the man after his ex-wife filed for a protective restraining order against him. The man was in federal custody for four days and was then abruptly released because prosecutors discovered that his ex-wife had been outwitted.
The man provided a notarized affidavit in which he details receiving a friend request from a 17-year-old girl who he believed was really his ex-wife attempting to fish for information.
“I am lying to this person,” he stated in the affidavit, “to gain positive proof that it is indeed my ex-wife trying to again tamper in my life.”
The man also added that he did not wanted to harm his ex-wife or his children despite what he would say to the account. The man sent the incriminating messages approximately a week after signing the affidavit. He retained one copy of the affidavit and gave another copy to a relative.
Authorities were able to verify the authenticity of the affidavit and released the man from custody. It is unclear what role these shenanigans will play in the ongoing child custody dispute.
Source: The Smoking Gun, “Charges Dropped In Facebook Spy Vs. Spy Case,” 6/9/11
