The former eBay head of security who masterminded a bizarre harassment and stalking campaign against a Natick couple in 2019 pleaded guilty on Monday.
Jim Baugh, who had initially sought a trial, admitted in court that he had committed the offenses leading to nine criminal charges.
Baugh admitted overseeing deliveries of a bloody pig mask, live spiders, and a funeral wreath to Ina and David Steiner, who published an online newsletter that reported on eBay. Baugh also admitted that he traveled to Natick to put the couple under surveillance and tried to attach a GPS tracking device to their car. He also admitted that he lied to Natick police and eBay’s internal investigators about the matter and deleted messages from his phone.
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The new plea leaves only one of the seven defendants in the case still fighting the charges. David Harville, eBay’s former director of global resiliency, who worked for Baugh, is scheduled to go on trial at the end of May.
US District Judge Patti Saris accepted Baugh’s plea and set a sentencing hearing for September.
The 47-year-old defendant faces 57 to 71 months in prison under federal sentencing guidelines, according to the US attorney’s office, although Saris can impose a shorter or longer sentence. He will remain free on bail until his sentencing hearing.
Baugh, who appeared at the virtual hearing on Zoom, declined to comment through his attorney, William Fick.
At the hearing, Fick contended that the appropriate range of sentence under the guidelines for Baugh would be 46 to 57 months, but Saris did not rule on the matter.
Aaron Pressman can be reached at aaron.pressman@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @ampressman.