University professor cyberstalked via AI chatbots and fake social media accounts for seven years

Summary

A Massachusetts man used AI chatbots to impersonate a university professor and lure strangers to her home for sex as part of a seven-year cyberstalking campaign. James Florence, 36, programmed chatbots on platforms like CrushOn.ai and JanitorAI to use the professor’s personal information—including her home address, family details, and stolen underwear—to engage users in sexual dialogue. The chatbots were designed to suggest, “Why don’t you come over?” leading to strangers parking outside the professor’s home. Florence also created fake social media accounts and websites to harass the professor and distribute manipulated images of her, and he stole and shared her personal information online. The stalking occurred between 2017 and 2024, during which the professor and her husband installed surveillance cameras, carried self-defense tools, and received over 60 harassing communications. Florence has agreed to plead guilty to seven counts of cyberstalking and one count of possession of child pornography.