A 2012 file mugshot of Todd Hoyte, the St. Thomas man sentenced to three years in federal prison for threatening and cyberstalking a Vermont prosecutor.
A St. Thomas man has been sentenced to three years in federal prison after admitting that he repeatedly called a Vermont prosecutor from the U.S. Virgin Islands and left threatening and harassing messages, including a threat against the prosecutor's life.
Todd Hoyte, 55, was sentenced Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Mary Kay Lanthier in Vermont to 36 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Hoyte had previously pleaded guilty to making interstate threats and cyberstalking, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Vermont.
Federal prosecutors said the conduct occurred between July 29 and September 25, 2024, while Hoyte was living in the U.S. Virgin Islands. During that period, he placed more than 10 cellphone calls to Vermont and left voicemails for Grand Isle County State's Attorney Douglas DiSabito.
The messages were part of what prosecutors described as a campaign of harassment, intimidation and threats. They included a threat against DiSabito's life as well as insults, slurs and other derogatory language. At the time, DiSabito was prosecuting Hoyte in a separate criminal matter.
As part of his guilty plea, Hoyte admitted that he made the communications to harass and intimidate DiSabito and that he intended to issue a threat while knowing that his communications would be understood as threatening, according to federal prosecutors.
The case had begun more than a year earlier. The FBI arrested Hoyte in St. Thomas on April 1, 2025, after a federal grand jury charged him with interstate threats and stalking. His first federal court appearance took place in the Virgin Islands, where he was ordered detained before being transferred to Vermont.
At his May 29, 2025 arraignment in Vermont, Hoyte initially pleaded not guilty and was ordered to remain in detention while the case proceeded. Federal records released at that stage said the threatening messages had been left not only through the prosecutor's work telephone system but also through other voicemail boxes, including one belonging to the Vermont Department of Public Service.
Hoyte subsequently changed his plea and admitted to the federal offenses that resulted in Tuesday's sentence.
The case is not entirely finished. Judge Lanthier scheduled a December 3, 2026 hearing to determine whether Hoyte will also be required to pay restitution as part of his sentence.
The FBI investigated the case, with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew C. Gilman prosecuted the matter, while Hoyte was represented by Assistant Federal Public Defender Emily Kenyon.
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