Convicted 'compulsive' Old Tappan, NJ cyberstalker charged again

OLD TAPPAN — A former firefighter with a criminal history of posting fake nude images of women online has again been accused of violating a restraining order and posting explicit images.

Daniel Pfeiffer, 33, of Old Tappan, created an account on a social media platform and used it to post nude photos of a victim, violating a permanent stalking restraining order, according to the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office.

Pfeiffer was arrested on Sept. 29 following a search of his home on Windsor Place, prosecutors said on Monday.

It's his latest arrest since he was first charged with stalking and invasion of privacy in December 2015.

What his cyberstalking victims say

Prosecutors did not publicly identify the victim in their latest accusations. However, some of Pfeiffer's victims have previously spoken with news outlets to expose how Pfieffer has damaged their lives.

Katie Krausz told NorthJersey.com in 2018 that she found out about the fake nude images seven years earlier. She said Pfeiffer was never more than a family friend who was a volunteer firefighter with her father in Old Tappan.

"It’s an embarrassing thing for me," Krausz said. Krausz added that she discloses the existence of the doctored photos at every job interview because the employer will find them anyway.

In 2018, Laura D’Elia said in court that she did have a romantic relationship with Pfeiffer but that the cyberstalking continued for at least another seven years after they broke it off, NorthJersey.com reported.

“I feel like I live two different lives, one when you’re in jail and I feel like I can breathe, and one when you’re out and I’m constantly living in fear of what you’re doing and what you’re posting,” D'Elia said.

History of cyberstalking charges

Pfeiffer has been charged repeatedly with cyberstalking, invasion of privacy, and similar offenses.

In February 2016, he pleaded guilty to stalking and received five years of probation. One year later, a judge issued a restraining order prohibiting Pfeiffer from stalking one of his victims.

Then in 2018, Pfeiffer accepted another plea deal for similar charges that included one year in jail, five more years of probation, a ban on volunteering as a firefighter, and terms that he could only use the internet for work. The judge sentencing Pfeiffer called his behavior "compulsive and repetitive," NorthJersey.com reported.

But it still didn't stop. Pfeiffer was charged in May 2019 with cyber harassment, violating a restraining order, and similar offenses, court records show. It was his fourth arrest in as many years. He pleaded guilty later the same year and was sentenced to five years in prison but was eligible for parole after two years. The accusations at the time were nearly identical to those announced by prosecutors on Monday.

Latest cyberstalking charges for former firefighter

Pfeiffer has most recently been charged with third-degree stalking, third-degree invasion of privacy, fourth-degree cyber harassment, and fourth-degree contempt of a permanent stalking restraining order.

He is being held at Bergen County jail pending a detention hearing on Oct. 5, Bergen County Prosecutor's Office spokesperson Elizabeth Rebein told New Jersey 101.5.

Rick Rickman is a reporter for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at richard.rickman@townsquaremedia.com

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