Ex-United pilot stalks flight attendant, gets prison: feds

A former pilot with United Airlines posted nude photos of a flight attendant and is going to prison a second time, federal officials and news outlets say.

In 2016, Mark Joseph Uhlenbrock, of Chesterfield, Missouri, was sentenced to three years and five months in prison after he pleaded guilty to internet stalking. Then in 2020, while on supervised release, he was arrested again in connection with the same accusations against the same person, according to a Sept. 1 news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas.

A criminal complaint from 2016 says in 2006, the victim was told by a co-worker they had come across nude photos of her on a “swingers” website.

Uhlenbrock posted nude photos of her on various websites for roughly 10 years after that, according to the complaint.

The FBI conducted an investigation that traced the nude photos back to Uhlenbrock’s IP address, the criminal complaint says.

“Between July 10 and July 15, 2015, Uhlenbrock utilized the username ‘onegirisfantasy’ to upload seven nude images of (the victim) to the internet,” the complaint says.

The complaint says after a search warrant was carried out, Uhlenbrock told police he posted the photos.

“Uhlenbrock said he can’t help himself and finds himself excited by the prospect of posting and then removing the images of (the victim). Uhlenbrock says he doesn’t trade pictures, he gets his enjoyment from the act of posting images of (the victim),” the complaint says.

After being released from his 2016 conviction, Uhlenbrock violated his terms of supervised release and was sentenced to six months in prison in 2019, according to KTSA, citing court records.

Then, in 2020, he was arrested again after he was accused of posting nude photos of the same victim online, the attorney’s office says.

“For years, Uhlenbrock weaponized the internet to try and destroy one woman’s life—not just once but twice,” U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza for the Western District of Texas said in the news release.

Court documents show Uhlenbrock posted nude photos of the victim online without consent between May 2020 to September 2020, according to the release.

A federal jury convicted Uhlenbrock in May of internet stalking. He was sentenced to six years in prison, the attorney’s office says.

“My hope is that this sentencing provides a sense of relief for the victim and sends a message that online stalkers like Uhlenbrock will be brought to justice,” Esparza said.

In 2018, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued United Airlines on behalf of the victim, saying it did nothing to protect her from the ongoing harassment by Uhlenbrock, The Washington Post reported.

United Airlines did not immediately respond to a request for comment from McClatchy News on Sept. 6.

That lawsuit said when Uhlenbrock posted nude photos of the victim to certain websites, he instructed viewers to “Look for her when you fly!” because she was a “new reason to ‘Fly the Friendly Skies,’” referencing a slogan of the airline, The Washington Post reported.

The 2016 criminal complaint shows the victim filed three lawsuits between 2009 and 2011 in an attempt to stop the harassment.

In 2016, United Airlines granted Uhlenbrock long-term disability in which the company continued to pay him, The Post reported. Then, the company allowed him to retire with full benefits after he pleaded guilty, according to court records obtained by the outlet.

Chesterfield is about 20 miles northwest of downtown St. Louis.