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Friday, January 7, 2022

Maryland Man Sentenced to 12 Months in Prison for Sexually Abusing and Blackmailing Woman

Defendant Arrested Following Series of Threatening Texts

            WASHINGTON – A Maryland man was sentenced today to serve 12 months in prison for sexually abusing and blackmailing a woman he met in August 2019 through a dating website, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Robert J. Contee III, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Steven B. Fabrizio, 58, of Chevy Chase, Maryland, pleaded guilty on July 30, 2021, to one count each of blackmail and third-degree sexual abuse. He was sentenced by the Honorable Marisa J. Demeo in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The judge sentenced him to a total of 30 months of incarceration; however, all but 12 months of that time was suspended on the condition that Fabrizio successfully complete three years of supervised probation. Additionally, he will be required to register as a sex offender for 10 years following his release from prison.

            According to the government’s evidence, Fabrizio met the woman on Aug. 19, 2019, after corresponding via a dating website and text. They had consensual sex, and Fabrizio gave her $400 in cash, as agreed upon beforehand. The next day, Fabrizio sought to set up another meeting, and the woman declined. At that point, Fabrizio sent the first in a series of texts to her, warning that the woman’s employer, parents, and landlord would be told about their sex-for-cash arrangement unless she continued to submit to his demands for further sexual encounters. 

            Similar texts followed, and the woman agreed to see him. During that second encounter, on Aug. 20, 2019, Fabrizio sexually abused her. Fabrizio later persisted with the texts, and the woman contacted the Metropolitan Police Department. He was arrested on Aug. 21, 2019.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Graves and Chief Contee commended those who investigated the case from MPD’s Sexual Assault Unit. They also expressed appreciation for the work of those who handled the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including former Victim Witness Specialist Juanita Harris, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter V. Taylor, who prosecuted the matter.