WALTHAM, MASS. (WHDH) - A man who federal investigators say is linked to a series of school bomb threats in Waltham is also accused of carrying out an “extensive cyberstalking campaign” against his ex-roommate, which included the theft and distribution of her personal photos and diary entries, and the creation fake online profiles soliciting sex in her name that caused men to show up at her home.
Ryan S. Lin, 24, of Newton, was arrested Thursday night on charges he waged a relentless cyberstalking campaign in an effort to terrorize a woman he was obsessed with. He was chaerged with ith one count of cyberstalking. He is due in Boston federal court on Friday.
Police said Lin engaged in an extensive, multi-faceted campaign of computer hacking and cyberstalking beginning in April 2016 against his former 24-year-old roommate, as well as his friends, family members and other associates.
Lin is accused of hacking into the victim’s online accounts and devices, stealing private photographs, personally identifiable information, and private diary entries that contained highly sensitive details about her medical, psychological and sexual history.
It’s also alleged that Lin distributed the victim’s private photographs and diary entries to hundreds of others. The FBI says Lin sent child pornography to the victim’s mother and friends.
Investigators say Lin created and posted fraudulent online profiles in the victim’s name and solicited rape fantasies, including “gang bang” and other sexual activities, which in turn caused men to show up at her home.
In addition, it is alleged that Lin falsely and repeatedly reported to law enforcement that there were bombs at the victim’s Waltham residence. Lin created a false social media profile in the name of the victim’s roommate in Waltham and posted that he was going to “shoot up” a school in a nearby town, according to investigators.
Investigators say the threats were part of a larger pattern of threats to local schools and other institutions in her community. Lin was so obsessed with his victim, he targeted schools in her city, making repeated bomb threats, according to the FBI. A court affidavit stated that the harassment caused the woman to move out of state.
Waltham Mayor Jeannette McCarthy says the ordeal was an expensive nightmare as she recalled the many evacuations in her city.
“This kind of behavior is not a prank, and it isn’t harmless. He allegedly scared innocent people, and disrupted their daily lives, because he was blinded by his obsession,” said Harold Shaw, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Boston Field Division.
Lin, a former resident of Connecticut, studied computer science at Rensallier Polytechnic Institute.
“Those who think they can use the Internet to terrorize people and hide behind the anonymity of the net and outwit law enforcement should think again,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Blanco
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