Idaho Man Charged with Cyberstalking

BOSTON – A Rigby, Idaho man was arrested yesterday for allegedly cyberstalking a Massachusetts professor over the course of five months.

Edward John Kay, 53, was charged by criminal complaint with one count of cyberstalking. Kay was arrested yesterday in Rigby, Idaho and will make an initial appearance in the District of Idaho today at 11 a.m. MDT (1 p.m. EST). He will appear in federal court in Boston at a later date.

According to the charging documents, Kay met the victim in January 2025 when he enrolled in the victim’s online course on psychosis, which the victim taught at a university’s extension school. It is alleged that, after one Zoom meeting with the victim and one virtual class session, Kay became fixated on the victim, dropped the course, and proceeded to harass and intimidate the victim over email and LinkedIn for the following five months.

Specifically, it is alleged that between January and June of 2025, Kay sent the victim over 80 harassing communications via LinkedIn and email – including at least one anonymous email account. In the communications, Kay allegedly expressed his adoration and love for the victim and repeatedly mentioned the victim’s minor child by name. It is alleged that the communications included: 

• An April 1, 2025 LinkedIn message sent to the victim, in which Kay allegedly stated: “I miss you-truly, deeply- with all of my heart and soul. That day I saw you on Zoom…You were the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. Not just appearance. Everything. Your presence. Your mind. Your light. To gain you…and then to lose you like that? It devastated me.”
• A May 9, 2025 email sent to several of the university’s offices with the victim copied, in which Kay alleged stated: “Dr. [victim’s last name] has been copied on all communications. She knows what is coming.” He added that this was only the “VERY BEGINNING” because “Every day, starting today, will mark a **new action of serious consequence**, taken by me in accordance with divine alignment and institutional justice.”
• A May 12, 2025 anonymous email sent to the victim from the email address [victim’s name]consience@protonmail.com, in which Kay allegedly professed his love for the victim, encouraged the victim to leave the university and stated, “You are still free. But you are not unreachable.”

It is further alleged that Kay told another university professor about his obsession with the victim and his desire to separate the victim from her husband.

According to the charging documents, on June 5, 2025, Kay emailed the victim and the president of the university stating that he purchased a first-class nonrefundable plane ticket to attend an in-person negotiations class at the university this summer, despite being banned from enrolling in the university’s courses. Airline records allegedly confirmed that Kay had purchased a one-way flight to Boston Logan Airport, that was scheduled to land on the morning of July 11, 2025, however he did not board the flight.

The charge of cyberstalking provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by FBI Salt Lake City and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Allegra Flamm of the Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.

The details contained in the charging document are allegations. The defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in the court of law.