He is a total scumbag whose persona just oozes a person living a lie. I hope he gets just what he deserves. I'd like to invite him to a necktie party and use him as my private pinata.

Jersey City rape suspect's posing as a Navy SEAL on dating website could be prosecuted under Stolen Valor Act

June 08, 2012, 11:38 AM
By Michaelangelo Conte/The Jersey Journal

JERSEY CITY ? The Bayonne man who impersonated a Navy SEAL on a dating website could have been prosecuted under the Stolen Valor Act before being charged with raping a 15-year-old girl this week, according to veterans who track these cases.

"This would have been a slam dunk Stolen Valor case," said Doug Sterner of Gregory John Schaffer, 33, who is charged with raping the Brooklyn girl in Jersey City after pretending he wanted to hire her to work at a store and then threatening her.

Sterner, 62, of Virginia, is a decorated Vietnam veteran who tracks people who falsely claim to have received military medals and decorations. His wife, Pam Sterner, was the driving force behind the Stolen Valor Act of 2005.

On the dating website, Schaffer claims to be a Navy SEAL and is wearing a white Navy uniform with a Navy SEAL pin, a Silver Star and Purple Heart, Sterner said.

Sterner said Schaffer could face up to a year in prison if he were prosecuted successfully under the Stolen Valor Act.

Retired SEAL Don Shipley, 50, of Virginia, hunts down and exposes fake Navy SEALs on the Internet and he said Schaffer is no SEAL. Shipley said there are many SEAL impersonators and noted there are currently only about 2,500 actives SEALs and fewer than 10,000 former and current SEALs alive.

Shipley said there are two kinds of phony Navy SEALs.

The first is "the barroom loudmouth looking to get next to a good looking woman. The second kind of phony lives that lie. His parents, his kids, his wife, all believe him to be a secret ninja jungle fighter. You live a life like that and you are not quite right."

Sterner said there have been many challenges to the Stolen Valor Act but only recently has an appeal gone to the Supreme Court. In that case, a man falsely claimed to have won the Congressional Medal of Honor. Oral arguments have been heard and a ruling may be coming soon, Sterner said.

Sterner said prosecutions under the Stolen Valor Act have stalled since it went to the Supreme Court a year ago as prosecutors wait to see how the justices will rule.

Information on the number of cases prosecuted under the Stolen Valor Act each year was not immediately available from the U.S. Department of Justice.

According to authorities, Schaffer contacted the 15-year-old he is accused of raping through a posting she did on Craigslist saying she was looking for a summer job.

Schaffer told the girl he owned four stores at the Newport Centre Mall in Jersey City, including a lingerie store, all of which was false, the criminal complaint says.

On March 18, at an office on Summit Avenue in Jersey City, Schaffer had the girl sign contracts that he said was for employment, but then told the girl the signed paperwork obligated her to have sex with him, or else she and her legal guardian could be sued, the complaint says.

The girl unwillingly complied out of fear, authorities said.

http://www.nj.com/jjournal-news/index ... y_rape_suspects_posi.html

A lowlife grifter posed as a Victoria?s Secret owner to lure a gullible 15-year-old Brooklyn girl to his sex lair, where he raped and photographed her, the feds said.

When agents raided the Jersey City office they found sex toys, handcuffs, condoms and photos of naked or swimsuit-clad teen girls, court documents show.

Gregory John Schaffer ? who?s also posed as a Navy SEAL, even though he was tossed out of the military ? was held without bail after an arraignment Monday.

The 33-year-old married father was trolling craigslist when he saw an ad posted by the victim, who was looking for a summer or after-school job.

He told her he owned four stores, including the lingerie franchise, at the Newport Mall and invited her to come for an interview ? after she sent him a photo.

She arrived at the office ? in a building shared by a bail bondsman and a disbarred lawyer ? with a friend and was grilled by Schaffer behind closed doors.

He told her to return alone the next day, ready to start work, prosecutors say. When she arrived, he handed her what he said were an employment contract and confidentiality agreement.

Once she had signed them without reading them, Schaffer lowered the boom ? telling the naive teen she had actually agreed in writing to have sex with him, court papers charge.

He allegedly threatened to report her boyfriend for having sex with an underage girl and said he would sue the victim?s great-grandmother for breach of contract if she refused.

He made her try on lingerie and a bathing suit before a camera, and insisted she have sex with him on the desk ? ignoring her pleas to leave, the feds said.

He swore her to secrecy, but the victim confided in her boyfriend ? who told investigators Schaffer threatened to post the lingerie shots on the Internet if she didn?t have sex with him.

Investigators said Schaffer ? described by one source as a ?grifter? ? had no connection to the mall. He has a string of lawsuits connected to his name, and served jail time for theft.

Sources confirmed he is the man in photos posted on a dating site wearing a medal-covered Navy uniform, claiming to be a former SEAL.

Don Shipley, who busts SEAL impersonators, said he had his cousin call Schaffer and grill him about his service to determine he was bogus.

?What a terrible guy,? Shipley said, adding that ?a lot of these phony SEALs are real predators.?

A law-enforcement source said Shaffer, who has a tattoo of a scorpion on his arm, told investigators he served in the Navy but was discharged without honor.

He also said that he has six children but they have all been adopted. His wife did not return a message for comment.


http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/c ... cs-feds-article-1.1089748