Prison for NJ ‘stalker’ who posed as nurse and brutally attacked women

🔴 NJ man attacked, stalked women

🔴 He threatened to “gut” one victim

🔴 Federal prison sentence

A New Jersey man has been sentenced to federal prison for targeting women he met online, physically attacking and threatening them in a violent pattern of abuse.

Herman Brightman was indicted in 2023 on charges of kidnapping, kidnapping a minor, cyberstalking and interstate stalking.

He also was charged with interstate travel to commit domestic violence and interstate communication of a threat, the sole charge that he pleaded guilty to in federal court.

On Tuesday, Brightman was sentenced to 10 years in prison and three years supervised release.

The West New York resident pretended to be a nurse while searching for women on Hinge and Facebook before the physical abuse of at least four victims in New Jersey, as well as Mount Vernon, Queens and the Bronx in New York.

Brightman has also gone by the names “Nazir Griffiths” and “Nazir Luckett.”

Woman and child kidnapped at knifepoint

Prosecutors said that in July 2022, Brightman traveled from New Jersey to New York and, at knifepoint, forced a woman who had recently broken up with him to go back to Brightman’s home, along with the victim’s child.

Once there, he threatened to kill the woman if she “made any problems” and held onto her for an entire evening to prevent her from escaping.

She was able to flee and contact local police the next morning, after convincing Brightman to let her leave his home, temporarily.

He threatened to “gut” one victim “like a fish”

About a year later in August 2023, Brightman brutally attacked a Queens woman he had been dating, holding her at knifepoint in her own home.

During the attack, prosecutors said he threatened to “gut” the woman “like a fish.”

Brightman also bound the woman’s hands and tried to tape her mouth.

She ended the relationship days later — and over a 24-hour span, Brightman called her over 20 times, including from private blocked numbers, threatening her.

Two separate victims in the Bronx

In early September, Brightman traveled from New Jersey to the Bronx and used his phone to lure a third woman he was dating to his car.

He then forced her to call the woman he had attacked in August before punching the third victim, bruising her arm.

As she tried to get away, Brightman chased the woman and put her in a chokehold before she managed to get back into her home and call police.

A few days later, Brightman showed up at the woman’s job, asking her if she had called the police.

He then followed her home and attacked her outside, pushing her to the ground and throwing a traffic cone at her.

In late September 2023, Brightman returned to the Bronx and convinced a fourth woman to let him inside her home. They had dated previously before she broke up with him.

Brightman assaulted and strangled the woman, repeatedly threatening to kill her and tried to rape her, prosecutors said.

She was ultimately able to escape with the help of a friend.

“Herman Brightman preyed on women he met through online dating websites. By posing as a nurse, Brightman earned the trust of his victims and then stalked, assaulted, and threatened them,” U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky, of the Southern District of New York, said on Tuesday.

“With today’s lengthy prison sentence, Brightman can no longer inflict pain or fear in his victims. I commend the brave women who spoke out against Brightman to ensure that he was held accountable for his crimes.”

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