Maryland Man Pleads Guilty to Sexually Abusing and Blackmailing Woman

 Defendant Arrested Following Series of Texts

            WASHINGTON – A Maryland man pleaded guilty today to sexually abusing and blackmailing a woman he met in August 2019 through a dating website, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips. 

            Steven B. Fabrizio, 57, of Chevy Chase, Md., pled guilty to one count each of blackmail and third-degree sexual abuse. He faces a statutory maximum of five years in prison on the blackmail charge and up to 10 years on the sexual abuse charge. Additionally, he will be required to register as a sex offender for 10 years. He is to be sentenced on Oct. 29, 2021, by the Honorable Marisa Demeo in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.

            According to the government’s evidence, Fabrizio met the woman on Aug. 19, 2019, after corresponding via a dating website and text. They had consensual sex, and Fabrizio gave her $400 in cash, as agreed upon beforehand. The next day, Fabrizio sought to set up another meeting, and the woman declined. At that point, Fabrizio sent the first in a series of texts to her, warning that the woman’s employer, parents, and landlord would be told about their sex-for-cash arrangement unless it continued. Similar texts followed, and the woman agreed to see him. During that second encounter, on Aug. 20, 2019, Fabrizio sexually abused her. Fabrizio later persisted with the texts, and the woman contacted the Metropolitan Police Department. He was arrested on Aug. 21, 2019.

            In announcing the plea, Acting U.S. Attorney Phillips commended those who investigated the case from MPD’s Sexual Assault Unit. He also expressed appreciation for the work of those who handled the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including former Victim Witness Specialist Juanita Harris, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter V. Taylor, who is prosecuting the matter.