FREEHOLD – A Neptune man is facing stalking, burglary and cyber-harassment charges after allegedly harassing a woman over social media and then breaking into a local residence, announced Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni.
Wayde M. Delhagen is facing charges of third degree Burglary, fourth degree Theft by Unlawful Taking, fourth degree Criminal Mischief, and related charges of fourth degree Stalking and fourth degree Cyber-Harassment.
Delhagen was arrested on June 15 after police responded to a 911 call to a residence on the 700 block of Wayside Road in Neptune Township. The residents, and 18-year old woman and her mother, told police that someone had broken into their home through a bedroom window while they were sleeping in another room. According to police, the girl had been having trouble with a man she met using social media.
A search later found Delhagen, in front of a nearby residence, in possession of a woman’s bathing suit top and a bra belonging to the victim. He reportedly took the items from a laundry basket located under the bedroom window.
Delhagen was charged with Burglary, Theft and Criminal Mischief and released on a summons.
Further investigation revealed that the female victim first met Delhagen through social media last year. Their acquaintance later turned into harassment after the victim rejected Delhagen’s efforts to set up a meeting for the two. She was forced to cut off any communication between them, police said.
In May 2019, Delhagen contacted the victim again through a different social media platform. He asked to come over, asked if her mother was home, and even sent her disturbing images like a Google Maps image of her house. After the victim rejected Delhagen for a second time, he sent a harassing message to her mother.
Delhagen was then charged with Stalking and Cyber-Harassment, and was taken to the Monmouth County Correctional Institution.
Delhagen is also charged out of Neptune City with two counts of fourth degree Cyber-Harassment as part of an ongoing investigation into harassing messages sent via social media and his cell phone to a separate set of victims. In that case, Delhagen is accused of utilizing social media accounts to repeatedly send threatening messages and sexually explicit materials to another young female victim and her mother. Those threatening messages also included references to the Sarah Stern homicide, police said.
Delhagen is being held in the Monmouth County Correctional Institution in Freehold Township. His hearing is scheduled for July 1, 2019.
Should he be convicted, Delhagen faces a sentence of three to five years in prison. If convicted of the fourth degree offenses, he faces up to 18 months in state prison on each count.
Law enforcement continues to seek names of other potential victims that may have been contacted by Delhagen on social media. Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective James Van Etten of the Neptune City Police Department at 732-455-0117, or Det. Erick Amadruto of the Neptune Twp. Police Department at 732-988-8000 ext. 419.
