California deputy pleads guilty to seven counts in case tied to stalking allegations by fitness influencer

A Riverside County sheriff’s deputy pleaded guilty to seven counts for illegally using the department’s computer system in a case tied to a California fitness influencer who alleges she was stalked by a member of the agency. The plea comes after the counts were reduced to misdemeanors and followed a probation sentence that prosecutors later challenged.

Briana Ortega, 29, says Deputy Eric Piscatella, 30, obtained her personal information and used it to monitor her movements and pursue a romantic relationship. Ortega filed a civil lawsuit alleging the deputy exploited his access to law enforcement databases to stalk her after meeting her at a county festival in Coachella in September 2023, when he offered her children stickers.

According to Ortega’s complaint and court filings, Piscatella first learned her name during the family festival and then accessed personal data, including a home address, four months later. He allegedly showed up at Ortega’s La Quinta residence armed and in full uniform, asking about the location of her daughter. Ortega has said she felt alarmed and concerned and did not provide the information.

The case then moved into a criminal phase, with prosecutors charging seven felony counts of illegally using Riverside County Sheriff’s Department computer systems and databases. Those counts were later reduced to misdemeanors, and Piscatella pleaded guilty to all seven. He received probation instead of jail time, a decision prosecutors later appealed.

Ortega told the Los Angeles Times that she refused to testify in the criminal case due to fear that Piscatella or other deputies might retaliate against her. She is pursuing damages in her civil suit, arguing that she suffered extreme mental and emotional distress in violation of her federal civil rights. A public attorney for Piscatella was not listed as of August 26.