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Cyberstalker who invited men to victim’s house for sex after creating fake social media accounts jailed

Ryan Lin also shared sensitive details about victim's medical, psychological and sexual history with hundreds of people who knew her

Tom Batchelor
Thursday 04 October 2018 17:30 BST
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Stalker created a fake social media profile in her name and threatened to carry out a school shooting
Stalker created a fake social media profile in her name and threatened to carry out a school shooting (Getty)

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A man who created fake social media profiles of his female housemate to invite men to her home for sex as part of an “extensive cyberstalking campaign” has been jailed for more than 17 years.

Ryan Lin, from the US state of Massachusetts, targeted his 25-year-old former housemate, her family, friends and co-workers by hacking into her online accounts.

He posted fraudulent sexual adverts in their names, sent child pornography images and made over 120 hoax bomb threats.

Lin, 25, stole the unnamed victim’s private photographs and diary entries containing sensitive details about her medical, psychological and sexual history, and distributed the material to hundreds of people associated with her, prosecutors said.

He also posted rape fantasies in her name, including “gang bang” and other sexual activities, which caused men to show up at the victim’s home.

Lin began targeting the woman shortly after meeting her in the spring of 2016 and the abuse continued until his arrest last October.

On several occasions he sent images of prepubescent children to the victim’s mother, co-worker, housemate and friends, a US justice department statement said.

He also created a fake social media profile in her name and threatened to carry out a school shooting, warning there would be “blood and corpses everywhere”.

Lin cyberstalked six others: some who were known to his former housemate, others who were also former housemates but unrelated to the primary victim.

He pleaded guilty in April to seven counts of cyberstalking, five counts of distribution of child pornography, nine counts of making hoax bomb threats, three counts of computer fraud and abuse and one count of aggravated identity theft following an investigation by the FBI and local police officers.

As part of Lin’s plea deal, he agreed to be sentenced to a minimum of seven years and a maximum of 17-and-a-half years in prison. He received the maximum sentence on Wednesday.

He was also sentenced to five years of supervised release, the statement said.

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