Stalking Conviction For Montco Man Who Harassed Bucks County Woman For Years

HATFIELD, PA — A local man was convicted by a jury late last week of stalking and terrorizing a woman from Bedminster Township in neighboring Bucks County, with authorities saying the defendant harassed the woman for a years-long period.

Andrew David Gold, 33, of Hatfield Township, Montgomery County, was found guilty of two counts of possession of a device for the interception of communications (felonies), two counts of stalking (misdemeanors), and one count of harassment (summary offense).

Bucks County prosecutors successfully argued that Gold stalked and harassed the unnamed woman for more than six years, a period of terrorizing that began back in 2015, when Gold first approached the woman as she was standing on a bridge with friends and greeted her by name, even though the woman claimed she did not know Gold.

On another occasion, the victim said she was using a public restroom at a local establishment when she encountered Gold, who was waiting for her outside the bathroom and tried speaking with her, according to the Bucks County District Attorney's Office.

The woman then asked Gold to leave her alone, but prosecutors said that the harassment continued for years after that, until the behavior was finally reported to police in Bedminster Township, Bucks County, the woman's hometown, in April 2021.

The DA's Office said that by that point, others in law enforcement had already been aware of Gold from several other reports of suspicious behavior.

Throughout the years, the stalking and harassment took various forms, prosecutors stated.

In 2018, for example, the victim received various vulgar comments on multiple social media sites through fictitious accounts created by Gold.

And in 2020, police in Bedminster Township found Gold near the woman's home on at least three occasions.

The woman's home in Bedminster, Bucks County is only about 10 miles away from Gold's home in Hatfield, Montgomery County.

In 2021, prosecutors stated, Gold's car was observed on surveillance cameras in the woman's neighborhood, and the stalking got so bad at times that neighbors would call 911 to report the suspicious behavior, which included Gold using binoculars and listening devices while sitting in his car to spy on the victim.

"Police spoke to Gold several times, telling him that his behavior is alarming residents in the neighborhood," the DA's Office stated in a news release. "Every time police asked, Gold never gave a legitimate reason for being there. He claimed not to know anyone in the neighborhood."

Prosecutors said that for a month-long period between September 2021 and October 2021, police saw Gold's vehicle near the woman's home nearly every single night.

Gold was eventually arrested in mid-October of 2021.

The DA's Office said that after Gold's arrest, investigators discovered that the victim's name appeared on Gold's computers more than 5,000 times, and that there were also online searches for previous addresses where the victim lived, the names of her ex-boyfriends, and the names of relatives who live in other parts of the country.

Court records show that Gold had been out on bail following his arrest, but the DA's Office said that Gold's bail was revoked, and he was sent to the Bucks County Correctional Facility following his conviction.

Court records show that Gold is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 30 before Bucks County Common Pleas Court Judge Gary B. Gilman.