Man accused of stalking, harassing and blackmailing teenager

PERRYOPOLIS, Pa. — A Fayette County man is in jail for allegedly stalking, harassing and threatening a teenager.

Police say the inappropriate contact started two years ago when the girl, then 16, worked at a restaurant in Perryopolis. She went to police recently when his behavior allegedly escalated.

Henry Sobek, 62, was a customer at the restaurant where the girl worked She told police he would harass her and buy her unwanted gifts. She didn’t get police involved until Sobek allegedly sent her pornographic pictures and threatened to blackmail her if she didn’t send similar pictures of herself to him.

In a criminal complaint, investigators said while the victim was filing a police report, they tried calling Sobek, but he didn’t answer so they texted him. According to the complaint, the next two messages that Sobek sent stated, “You (expletive), you only had to do one simple thing” followed by, “And if the cops come, your life will be over.”

Channel 11’s Melanie Gillespie talked to several people who know Sobek but did not want to be identified. They told her they were not surprised by his arrest.

Perryopolis police told Gillespie they confiscated several laptops and cellphones from Sobek. They’re sending them to the FBI forensic lab.

Sobek does not have a previous criminal record, but because of the severity of the charges, he’s in jail on $35,000 bail.

Cox Media Group