WASHINGTON — A grand jury in the District of Utah returned a superseding indictment today charging Ian West, 50, of Mountain Green, Utah, with assaulting a former dating and intimate partner by strangulation and attempted strangulation while working overseas with the U.S. military, and then cyberstalking the same person after returning to his home in Utah.
According to court documents, West was stationed in Okinawa, Japan, working as a teacher with the U.S. Department of Defense when he strangled the victim on or about March 31, 2024. After the assault in Japan, West returned to his home in Utah and began to cyberstalk the same person by setting up fake online profiles advertising massage and escort services, including some that featured intimate photos of the victim with personal contact information. These profiles led to the victim receiving multiple unwanted communications from people seeking sexual encounters.
West was charged by indictment on Jan. 15, with assault of a spouse, intimate partner, or dating partner by strangling, suffocating, or attempting to strangle or suffocate. West was charged by superseding indictment on Feb. 12 with cyberstalking. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
The FBI and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service are investigating the case.
Trial Attorney Taryn Meeks of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Hirata for the District of Utah are prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
