Employee Accused Of Using College Computer Network To Commit Cyberstalking Crime
SMITHFIELD – An employee at Johnston Community College in Smithfield is facing criminal charges of cyberstalking and unauthorized access of government computers. The cyberstalking charge is a misdemeanor and the unauthorized government computer access charge is a felony.
Sherrill Ray Strickland Jr., 49, of River Road, Selma was arrested by the Johnston County Sheriff’s Office.
On June 5th, a 27 year-old woman told sheriff’s detectives someone had set up a fake account on an internet dating site using her real name and photograph. Her photograph had been copied from her personal Facebook page. She had no idea who had set up the fake account.
Sherill Strickland Jr. is accused of setting up the fake dating site account using the computer network at Johnston Community College where he is employed as a custodian. After setting up the account, he allegedly uploaded pornographic images of women and claimed on the dating site the photos were those of the female victim. The sexually explicit images were not those of the victim, rather other unknown women. The fake profile also claimed the victim was looking to meet men in the area for sex.
Strickland is also accused of sharing detailed personal information about the victim to those who responded to the dating site ad, including a description of the car she drove. In addition to allegedly setting up the fictitious dating account using the Johnston Community College computer network, Strickland used the internet at JCC to regularly check and update the fraudulent dating site account.
Strickland was arrested on July 23, 2020 and released from custody on a $30,000 unsecured bond.
Johnston Community College declined to comment on the arrest, only saying Strickland was on administrative leave while they conduct an internal investigation.
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Editor’s Note: A mugshot of Sherill Ray Strickland Jr. was not taken because he was given an unsecured bond and was never booked into the Johnston County Jail.
