FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. – A man is facing a stalking charge after deputies say he harassed his former co-worker on social media and approached her in person.
Flagler County deputies arrested Nicholas Sess Friday after the victim reported he tried to force his way into her home.
The victim told deputies Sess tried to approach her outside of her home around noon as she was walking her dog around Walla Place in Palm Coast. When she spotted him on his bike, she turned around to return home. She said Sess rode his bike onto her property and approached her, according to the arrest report.
Sess was pressuring the victim to answer why she had not responded to his messages on social media. Sheriff Rick Staly called Sess “a pretty creepy individual.”
The woman told deputies that she and Sess used to work at Coconuts Car Wash. Sess would ask her out on dates multiple times and each time she politely declined but allowed him to follow her on social media. Due to the uncomfortable atmosphere, Sess would create around the victim at work, she quit working at the car wash in March, according to the victim’s statement to deputies.
She told deputies Sess would consistently direct message her on social media platforms questioning why their relationship was not on good terms. After blocking Sess on social media, he would create different accounts to message her. He referenced those accounts during their confrontation outside of her home, according to the arrest report.
As Sess demanded the victim respond to why she wouldn't respond to his online messages, she told him she deleted her accounts. She told deputies she'd deleted her accounts in response to Sess' online harassment.
“This was a guy that was not going to give up," Staly said. "That was going to continue to be persistent and who knows what ultimately his intentions might of been.”
The woman told Sess that during her break from social media, she had not seen his messages. She said this response calmed him down. He proceeded to express his mental health concerns to the victim and how he was "looking into what's called cannibalism in order to repair muscle tissue," according to the arrest report.
[RESOURCES: National Stalking Resource Center | What are the signs of a stalker? ]
The victim told Sess she was trying to go back into her home to help her father with something, and Sess forcibly held the door open with his arm, placing his foot in the doorway to block the door from closing, according to the arrest report. That's when the woman told Sess her father was home and had a gun inside the house. Sess proceeded to let the door close.
The victim originally called authorities to have Sess trespassed from her home after he incessantly knocked on her door after their encounter, according to deputies.
“Who knows what could’ve ultimately happened," Staly said. "I’m just thankful she called us, finally.”
Deputies found Sess to deliver the trespass warning. The 25-year-old admitted to deputies he had been messaging the woman to learn why they had such a poor relationship. He denied trying to force his way into her home, according to the arrest report.
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Deputies asked Sess how he learned where the woman lived. He said he would look at pictures the victim would post on social media and studied her surroundings. He eventually learned the general area where she lived, and he would ride his bike everyday in her neighborhood until he saw her walk into her home, according to Sess statement to deputies.
Investigators asked about Sess comment on cannibalism; the 25-year-old said it was accurate, and in reference to a dieting technique where he loses weight. It was to connect with the victim and their previous conversations about physical fitness, according to the arrest report.
Deputies learned Sess was also from Coconut Car Wash. The management team told investigators he was being confrontational and "creepy" with other female employees.
During the investigation, the victim eventually asked deputies to press charges. Sess is now facing a felony charge of burglary of a dwelling and a misdemeanor stalking charge. He was previously on misdemeanor probation in reference to resisting an officer without violence, loitering and prowling.