Man, 63, who stalked father of Parkland mass shooting victim and sent him a text saying he plans to have 'party every night of this fantastic trial' to celebrate 'blood and death' ahead of Nikolas Cruz's sentencing is sentenced to just a YEAR in prison

A man who stalked the father of a Parkland mass shooting victim and sent him a text saying he plans to have 'party every night of this fantastic trial' to celebrate 'blood and death' has been jailed.

James Catalano, 62, of Fresno, California, was handed a 12 month sentence for cyberstalking Fred Guttenberg - whose daughter Jaime, 14, was killed in the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, carried out by Nikolas Cruz. 

Guttenberg received over 200 harrowing messages from IP addresses associated with the same person, glorifying the deaths of 14 students who were killed. 

The messages graphically described the victim's daughter's death - as well as egged on debates about gun control and violence.  

Catalano pleaded guilty to cyberstalking in March, and was sentenced on Friday.

Fred Guttenberg's daughter Jaime, 14, (both pictured here) was killed in the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, carried out by Nikolas Cruz. James Catalano, 62, of Fresno, California, was handed a 12 month sentence for cyberstalking him

Nikolas Cruz was sentenced to life imprisonment for the Parkland shooting 

Prosecutors described his messages as 'callous and cruel,' and added in a memo: 'Plainly, the defendant disagreed with the victim and his activism against gun violence, and he capitalized on the victim’s grief and the horrific nature of his daughter’s death in order to silence him.' 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Arielle Klepach wrote in court documents: 'By his own admission, the defendant was motivated to stalk the victim and send him heinous messages simply because he disagreed with the victim’s political views.

'He capitalized on the victim’s grief and the horrific nature of his daughter’s death in order to silence him.' 

Following the sentencing, Guttenberg wrote on X: 'Following an extended period of harassment & threat directed at me, last year the FBI made an arrest & successfully prosecuted leading to imprisonment. 

'Because of this case, there is additional precedent to prosecute online harassment. Don't do it.'

Law enforcement officers interviewed Catalano in July 2022, where he told officials that he had sent the harrowing messages. 

Fred Guttenberg reacts as he awaits a verdict in the trial of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooter Nikolas Cruz

The complaint said that Catalano told them he believed Guttenberg was 'using his dead daughter to push his political agenda,' which he 'did not like.'

Catalano was trying to put Guttenberg 'in check' by sending the messages, the filing said. 

He sent Guttenberg messages for eight months starting in December 2021 that celebrated Jaime Guttenberg’s death and reveled in the wounds she suffered. 

He also mocked the sadness and loss Guttenberg feels and directed obscenities, slurs and disturbing insults to him and his daughter. 

Catalano also received three years probation and must undergo mental health treatment. 

The U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Florida, said in a statement: 'On Oct. 20, U.S. District Judge Robert N. Scola sentenced James Catalano, 62, of Fresno, California, to 12 months in prison for sending hundreds of harrowing messages to a local activist against gun violence whose daughter was murdered during the 2018 mass shooting at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

'On March 28, 2023, Catalano pled guilty to cyberstalking. According to the court record, beginning in or around December 2021 and continuing through July 2022, Catalano sent the victim hundreds of disparaging messages, which graphically described the victim's daughter's death, and focused on the debate surrounding gun control and the victim's activism against gun violence.

'U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida and Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of the FBI, Miami Field Office, made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Arielle Klepach prosecuted the case.'