Michael Lee Kurkowski
Warning: The allegations in this article are disturbing.
A 26-year-old Minnesota man previously convicted of felony exploitation of a minor in Pennsylvania was arrested for allegedly threatening to torture, rape, and murder his former victim and the boy’s family. Authorities last week arrested Michael Lee Kurkowski, who allegedly was on a Greyhound bus bound for Pennsylvania with a bag full of weapons and other objects, the Justice Department announced Wednesday.
In text messages contained in documents filed in federal court, Kurkowski allegedly detailed what he imagined to be “the worst possible thing” to his former victim, which allegedly included murdering his parents and raping and murdering his sister in front of him.
“I get to [the victim’s sister]. Get to her house. [I] have her [and] the [the victim] and I murder the mother in front of them both. Then I let the girl decide who I rape first, her or her brother,” Kurkowski allegedly wrote about the initial parts of his plan. “So I rape the girl, but I make sure I have pills for this, because I’ll want to make sure there is pain on her end. When I’m done after however many hours it may take, I’m going to snap her fingers. But I’m going to make sure that I have her take some drugs so she doesn’t have a cardiac arrest from pain. When she’s broken and in the corner I’m going to rape the brother but I’m going to [be] gentle about it. Going to take my time to make sure it feels nice for him.”
Prosecutors say that such threats are all the more alarming because Kurkowski was taken into custody on the bus to Harrisburg, allegedly in possession of heavy flex zip tie cuffs, a large knife, a Taser, tape, lube, rubber gloves, hooded facemasks, and a handwritten list of names believed to be his intended targets, according to a probable cause affidavit.
“When I’m done—I’m going to put him in front of her and tell her I can shoot him in the head and it will be an instant death or I can shoot him in the heart and you can hold him while he dies in [your] arms,” Kurkowski allegedly continued in the messages.
According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Kurkowski had been communicating and exchanging sexually explicit images with the alleged intended target, a minor identified in court documents as “E.K.,” for several years, beginning when the victim was 15-years-old. When E.K. tried to end the “relationship” in early 2021, Kurkowski traveled to Pennsylvania to confront the minor. He was later arrested and served 142 days in jail on child pornography and child exploitation charges before being released on probation later that year.
According to the DOJ, law enforcement began investigating Kurkowski again in December 2021 after a woman came forward with messages she found on her 16-year-old nephew’s cell phone that were allegedly from Kurkowski. The woman, identified only as “Rachel,” had recently become her nephew’s guardian and notified police about the messages, which allegedly contained exchanges of sexually explicit images of the boy. The messages also allegedly included the detailed description of Kurkowski telling the nephew about his plans to torture and murder E.K. and his family.
Investigators on Feb. 4 went to Kurkowski’s residence regarding the threats but he was not home. He allegedly told family members various stories about where he would be that weekend. Police then contacted Greyhound and learned Kurkowski had purchased a ticket to Harrisburg, within miles of where E.K. and his family lived. Police tracked his cell phone and arrested him in Toledo, Ohio.
Investigators then interviewed him about the allegedly threatening messages and why he was traveling to Pennsylvania. According to the affidavit, he admitted that he intended to travel to E.K.’s residence, saying he felt E.K. “betrayed him by breaking up with him and saying he was not in love with him.”
Kurkowski was “very mad at E.K. and told agents he planned to use the flex cuffs in his bag to subdue E.K.,” the affidavit states. The document also says Kurkowski told agents he’s “had thoughts to harm E.K. and his family but was unsure if he would actually carry out those thoughts.
Kurkowski is currently facing one count of sending threatening interstate communications but additional charges for violating his probation are likely, the DOJ said.
See below for the affidavit.
[image via Upper Allen Township Police]