Michael McGuire. (Linn County Jail photo courtesy of KCRG TV)

A northeast Iowa man will spend ten years in federal prison after admitting to continually harassing a Minnesota woman for nearly two years.

Fifty-eight-year-old Michael Shawn McGuire of Cresco was sentenced for his December 2020 guilty pleas to four counts of cyberstalking. Information disclosed at the hearings showed that McGuire met the woman in 2017 through an online dating website.

They broke up after seven months,  and McGuire began texting and emailing the woman harassing messages. That continued even after the woman obtained a no-contact order against him. The info showed McGuire created fake Facebook profiles that contained the woman’s name or photo and contained sexually explicit messages.

United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams. Judge Williams described McGuire’s conduct toward the victim and her friends and family as “a form of mental torture” and “form of public terrorism in a way.”

McGuire also made dozens of flyers and yard signs, which contained sexually explicit messages, photographs of the victim, and sexually explicit photographs of women appearing to be the victim.

McGuire must also pay a $15,000 fine, and  $17,500 in restitution to the victim.