— Jeff Ward, Lehigh Valley News Briefs
A West Conchocken man is going to prison for stalking a Bethlehem woman,
Matthew Bustin, 33, pleaded guilty Nov. 7, according to Lehigh County District Attorney Gavin P. Holihan. He was sentenced Thursday.
The stalking included contacting the woman on social media, text messages, a tracking device and sending Valentine’s Day chocolates that resembled female anatomy, according to the District Attorney.
The press release from Holihan did not identify the woman. Bustin has had other problems involving stalking, according to the statement.
From the District Attorney:
Feb. 7, 2025
District Attorney Gavin P. Holihan announced a sentencing for a man charged with stalking a woman in Bethlehem, Lehigh County.
Matthew Bustin, DOB 3/12/1991, of West Conshohocken, pleaded guilty Nov. 7, 2024 to Stalking – Repeatedly Committing Acts to Cause Fear.
On Feb. 6, 2025, Bustin was sentenced at a hearing before Judge James T. Anthony to serve five months to 24 months (minus one day) in county prison and three years of consecutive probation. There was no plea agreement and the prosecution had sought a state prison sentence.
In December 2023, Bethlehem Police began investigating after a woman told officers she suspected there may be a GPS tracking device on her vehicle. The victim’s name will not be released.
A tracking device found on the victim’s car was traced to Bustin, who admitted placing the device there. That same month, the woman said she repeatedly received Instagram requests from a man later identified as Bustin and she denied those requests because she did not know who he was. Bustin also used aliases, including a female name Meg/Megan, to repeatedly contact the victim.
In January, a man identified as Bustin approached her in her apartment parking complex and asked for help with a dead battery on his vehicle. Bustin told the woman he was interested in moving to the apartment complex and asked for her phone number for more information about moving there.
In February and March of 2024, the woman received more Instagram requests and unwanted text
messages from Bustin until she told him she was not interested in him. Bustin continued sending text messages and social media requests.
Bustin anonymously sent candies in the shape of buttocks and vaginas to the victim on Valentine’s Day.
While at her work at an area hospital, the victim found flowers tucked in her car door handle. Video surveillance showed Bustin left the flowers on her car.
In 2018 in Lehigh County, Bustin was placed on 12 months of probation after pleading guilty to Loitering and Prowling outside the home of a former girlfriend.
The defendant is currently awaiting trial in Bucks County for charges that include Burglary, Stalking and Criminal Trespass. Those charges do not involve the same victim for which he was sentenced in Lehigh County.
(The) case was investigated by Bethlehem Police Officer Eric M. Hammer and Detective Ashley Kratochvil and was prosecuted by Senior Deputy District Attorney Sarah K. Heimbach.
Lehigh Valley News Briefs 