CHICAGO - Federal prosecutors have charged a Chicago man with harassing his former partner by sharing her nude photos with her family, friends and co-workers.
Vincent Storme, 32, also allegedly created a fake website and social media accounts in her ex’s name to further embarrass her, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago.
The woman contacted the FBI, telling them she left Chicago “out of fear of this man,” according to a criminal complaint.
“He has physically overpowered me before, and his unhinged behavior online keeps escalating,” she is quoted in the complaint as saying. “I am terrified.”
After their relationship ended in May, Storme accessed her phone without her consent and obtained the photos before sharing them, prosecutors said.
In a website Strome allegedly created to disparage the 26-year-old woman, he published a 9,000 word screed detailing his negative thoughts of her, according to the complaint. He allegedly published several of her personal texts in the document, some of them sexually explicit.
Federal investigators were able to link to Strome to the creation of the website and several other social media accounts created in the woman’s name, the charges state.
In June, the woman contacted the FBI to report the allegedly harassment and the distress she underwent.
“I have missed two weeks of work and lost 10 pounds since May 31,” she wrote. “The emotional distress is unbearable and I have sought therapy and the help of lawyers and police officers.”
Storme was arrested Wednesday on a count of cyberstalking, punishable up to five years in federal prison.
His detention hearing is scheduled for Friday afternoon.