A former world champion cyclist and Olympic gold medalist from the Lehigh Valley was arrested and charged with felony criminal trespass and two counts of misdemeanor stalking on Tuesday night, authorities said.
Nothstein, who previously served as Lehigh County commissioner and ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 2018, was released on $25,000 bail following his arrest.
Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin and a state police official announced Nothstein's arrest and charges on Wednesday. They said in a statement that Nothstein, 50, of Orefield, allegedly stalked another man and a woman between December 2020 and November 2021 in "an ongoing pattern of stalking of both victims, harassment and damage to personal property."
The victims are in a relationship, authorities said.
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In March of this year, authorities said in the statement, Nothstein entered the female victim's home without permission and attempted to access her personal digital data.
"It is alleged that in one instance, on or about March 22, 2021, the defendant entered the female victim’s house without her consent and attempted to access her Apple account," authorities said. "The defendant later admitted that he had entered her home."
Nothstein was ordered to avoid all contact with the victims while the case is ongoing.
Nothstein's defense attorney, Angelo Almonti, was in court Wednesday afternoon and not immediately available for comment, his office said.
The suspect ran as a Republican to represent Pennsylvania's 7th congressional district in 2018, but lost to U.S. Rep. Susan Wild, a Democrat and former city solicitor in Allentown.
During his campaign, he described himself as a small businessman who still works on his family's farm in Lehigh County.
