Cyberstalking

Published on: April 25, 2019

Florida Gators Football Staff Member Accused of Cyberstalking Ex-Girlfriend

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

Alachua County Sheriff’s deputies arrested a Gators football staff member accused of cyberstalking his ex-girlfriend.

Investigators charged the 51-year-old man, who is the assistant director of player personnel for UF football, with felony aggravated stalking in a string of incidents dating back to April 14.

An arrest report says the man and his ex broke up on April 14. Following the breakup, a report allegedly says the man sent over 40 messages through phone, text and Facebook.

On April 21, the ex apparently requested that the man stop contacting her. Deputies claim he refused and even left a voicemail on her phone stating he would “blow up her car.”

According to the report, the man is accused of sending multiple vulgar messages to her through a different phone after she requested he stop contacting her.

Prosecutors view cyberstalking crimes as serious because of the concern that these crimes will escalate into more violent ones. If you think you are under investigation for a cyberstalking crime or have already been arrested, our Alachua County Criminal Defense Attorneys at Whittel & Melton urge you to contact us as soon as possible so we can evaluate your charges and explain your potential options.

Cyberstalking can result in severe penalties such as jail time and fines. While most cyberstalking crimes are often charged as misdemeanors, the charges can be elevated to a felony in certain situations.

Cyberstalking can include:

Making criminal threats
Making false accusations
Encouraging bullying and humiliation of a user
Sending harassing emails or messages

Published on: January 31, 2018

2 Florida Juveniles Charged with Cyberstalking in Girl’s Suicide

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

Two 12-year-olds have been charged with cyberstalking in connection with the death of a middle school student in Panama City Beach, who committed suicide two weeks ago.

The arrests came as the result of an investigation by Panama City Beach Police into the mitigating circumstances around her death on Jan. 10. According to a news release, PCBPD was made aware of potential cyberbullying against the child, which led them to examine several cell phones and social media accounts.

Through that investigation, PCBPD developed two 12-year-old suspects, who were then interviewed and allegedly confessed to engaging in cyberbullying conduct.

A male and female were charged.

PCBPD said in a statement that their investigation did not reveal that cyberbullying was the sole cause of the girl’s death, just that it was occurring at the time of her death. An official ruling on her cause of death has not yet been released by the Medical Examiner’s Office.

Cybercrimes can be difficult to understand, and if you’re a parent and have a child facing criminal charges, you are probably concerned about what to do to be proactive in your child’s defense. A conviction could change your child’s life forever. If your child has been arrested or is under suspicion for cyberstalking or cyberbullying, don’t hesitate to contact our Florida Juvenile Crimes Defense Lawyers at Whittel & Melton. We will work to protect your child’s future and freedom.

Cyberbullying involves communications via the internet , through text messages or any other electronic communications. These crimes have drastically increased with modern technologies becoming more common, including emails, texts, blogs, and social media profiles, like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, etc.

Published on: August 18, 2016

Wildwood City Commissioner Accused of Texting Death Threat

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

A Wildwood city commissioner is facing second-degree felony charges after deputies claim he texted a death threat.

The 38-year-old Oxford man was charged Wednesday with intimidation/writing or sending a threat to kill or injure.

According to a Sumter County Sheriff’s arrest report, a woman who told deputies she’d been with the man for more than seven years said that on the afternoon of Aug. 1, she received a text message from him that said, “I just beat my sons with a baton because of my anger towards you. I don’t want your gift of freedom. When I get back I’m going to take your life and mine.”

She told deputies that the man was in Texas when he sent the text.

The woman said that for the entire time they’ve been together, the man has been physically violent toward her and that in the past, she’d been punched, choked, kicked, pushed and dragged across a concrete porch.

The woman also alleges the man has previously threatened to kill her and the people she loves if she “moves on.”

The man has no criminal history. According to reports, the man had a first appearance in front of a judge Thursday and has bonded out of the Sumter Detention Center on $15,000 bail.

Criminal threats often revolve around one person’s word against another’s. However, credible threats are those made verbally, in writing, or via electronic communications like telephone, email, or texting. In the state of Florida, a “credible threat” is any behavior that causes the threatened person to reasonably fear for his or her safety or the safety of the person’s family or loved ones, and appears to be one that the person making the threat can actually carry out.A threat can still be credible under Florida law even if the person making the threat has no intentions of carry out the act or is incarcerated.

Published on: June 17, 2016

UF Professor Arrested on Stalking Charge

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

A University of Florida professor has been arrested on a cyberstalking charge, according to a police report.

The 45-year-old professor in the College of Pharmacy is accused of stalking a woman who used to work for him, according to the University of Florida Police report.

The woman told UPD’s victim’s advocate office on Tuesday that the man had been communicating with her through email and text messages after she told him to stop, the report said. She told investigators that the professor’s actions caused her to quit her job.

The man allegedly continued to try to contact her, which she claims caused her distress and resulted in her having her mother accompany her to various locations. The woman also claims the man once followed her to her car and made contact with her father, believing that the woman was in the car.

The man is accused of resisting being handcuffed at the time of his arrest, the report said.

The man, who was hired in 2014, has been placed on administrative leave and UF is in the process of having him trespassed, according to a UF spokeswoman.

The man will not be allowed on campus until the case is resolved or it is determined he is not a threat, according to the university.

The man was arrested on charges of cyberstalking and resisting arrest. He was being held Wednesday in the Alachua County jail on $5,000 bond.

Stalking through social media websites, texting, calling and leaving voice mails are all forms of stalking. There are other varieties of stalking, including:

Unwanted following
Harassing
Lurking around the person’s place of employment
Hanging out in parking lots where the victim’s car may be parked

In order to prove stalking charges, it must be demonstrated that the offender has pursued the individual and repeatedly or continuously harassed them to the point the person has a reasonable cause to feel terrorized, frightened, intimidated, threatened, harassed, or molested.

Published on: December 3, 2014

Alachua County Man Arrested for Cyberstalking

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

A Gainesville man was arrested Tuesday for allegedly cyberstalking a Union County woman.

The woman claims the man promised he would ride a bicycle 35 miles to rest on the porch of her mother’s home.

The 37-year-old man allegedly swapped several emails in June with the woman that had a sexual undertone. The woman apparently asked the man to stop communicating with her. In October, the woman claims the man sent a text message to her that said he wanted to ride his bicycle to her mother’s home to rest, according to a booking report filed by a Gainesville Police Department officer.

The woman told police she believes the man made the trip from his Southwest Williston Road address to her home in Union County, so she called the sheriff’s office there. According to reports, a Union County Sheriff’s deputy asked the man to have no contact with the woman.

Police said the man subsequently sent 18 emails to the woman that placed her in distress and led her to change the locks on her home.

The man allegedly confessed to writing the emails from his Gainesville apartment. He was arrested on a charge of cyberstalking and later booked into the Alachua County jail.

Cyberstalking is the use of the Internet or any other forms of electronic communication to harass or threaten other people. Virtual stalking can take the form of verbal abuse, sexual harassment and even repeatedly requesting a private meeting or chat. Cyberstalking in Florida is a first-degree misdemeanor punishable by 12 months in the county jail and a $1,000 fine for each alleged act.