Man Accused Of Waltham Bomb Threats, Cyberstalking Pleads Guilty

WALTHAM, MA — The man accused of conducting an extensive cyberstalking rampage against his former housemate in Waltham, her family members, co-workers and friends, and who is also accused of escalating that rampage to include a series of bomb threats across the city, pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court in Boston to 25 offenses.

Ryan S. Lin, 25, pleaded guilty to seven counts of cyberstalking, five counts of distribution of child pornography, nine counts of making hoax bomb threats, three counts of computer fraud and abuse and one count of aggravated identity theft.

As part of Lin’s plea agreement, he agreed to be sentenced to a minimum of seven years and a maximum of 17 ½ years in prison.

Lin was arrested in October 2017 and has been in custody since, according to the District Attorney's office.

From May 2016 through Oct. 5, 2017, Lin not only cyberstalked his former housemate, a 24-year-old woman who lived in Waltham, he conducted a campaign against her. Lin hacked into the woman's online accounts and devices and stole her private photographs, personally identifiable information, and private diary entries, which contained highly sensitive details about her medical, psychological and sexual history, and distributed the material to hundreds of people associated with her.

Lin also created and posted fraudulent online profiles in her name and solicited rape fantasies, including requests for a “gang bang,” and other sexual activities, which in turn caused men to show up at her home. And that was just a few of the things he did to target her. Court documents indicated he relentless sent anonymous text messages to her and instigated hoaxes.

And it wasn't just her he cyberstalked. The District Attorney's office said Lin stalked six others, some were associated with the former housemate, and others were entirely unrelated.

On multiple occasions, Lin also sent sexually explicit images of prepubescent children on an unsolicited basis to her mother, co-worker and the first housemate, a friend of the former roommate who lived in New Jersey, and two of his former classmates in New York. He also cyberstalk-attacked his own current housemate in Newton, according to the court record.

Lin falsely and repeatedly reported to law enforcement that there were bombs at the home of his former housemate in Waltham. Lin also created a false social media profile in the name of the her then-housemate in Waltham and posted that he was going to “shoot up” a school in Waltham, saying that there would be “blood and corpses everywhere.”

These threats expanded beyond Waltham and became part of an extensive and prolonged pattern of threats to local schools, private homes, businesses, and other institutions in the broader community. Ultimately, Lin pleaded guilty to having made over 100 bomb threats, including 24 in a single day.

U.S. District Court Judge William G. Young scheduled the sentencing hearing for Sept. 14, 2018.

Previously on Patch:

Waltham Bomb Threat Suspect Arrested - For Cyberstalking

Waltham Bomb-Threat Case: Newton Man Charged On 24

24 Bomb Threats In Waltham Appear To Be Hoaxes: Police

Waltham, Belmont School Bomb Threats: Police

Bomb Threat At The Waltham Library: False Alarm,

Waltham To Hold Bomb Scare Meeting

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File photo by Jenna Fisher/Patch