INDReporter

BIA administrator formally charged in stalking case

by Heather Miller

Christopher Hebert, the man behind the Busted in Acadiana Facebook page, was formally charged Oct. 17 on one count each of stalking and cyberstalking more than a year after he was arrested and booked into jail on the same charges.

More than a year after his Oct. 5, 2011, arrest, Busted in Acadiana administrator Christopher Hebert has been formally charged on one count each of stalking and cyberstalking.

Hebert is known locally as the man behind the Busted in Acadiana Facebook page that once served as a hub for Acadiana's mug shots and has since evolved into a local crime blog. Hebert's arrest last year was unrelated to his Busted business, but the alleged victim in the stalking and cyberstalking case came forward after IND Monthly's cover story, "Busted: Busted in Acadiana," identified Hebert as the BIA creator and detailed his troubling dip into the mug shot world.

As IND Monthly reported on the day of his arrest: Lafayette Police Cpl. Paul Mouton confirms that Hebert's arrest is based on a series of complaints of both electronic and phone threats filed by a female victim late last year. Police will not release details on the alleged crimes, but Mouton says new developments on the investigation surfaced in recent weeks and led to the arrest.

Cyberstalking is defined by Louisiana law as using "electronic communication of any words or language threatening to inflict bodily harm to any person or to such person's child, sibling, spouse, or dependent, or physical injury to the property of any person, or for the purpose of extorting money or other things of value from any person."

According to the statute, cyberstalking can also mean "electronically mail or electronically communicate to another repeatedly, whether or not conversation ensues, for the purpose of threatening, terrifying, or harassing any person," or "to knowingly make any false statement concerning death, injury, illness, disfigurement, indecent conduct, or criminal conduct of the person electronically mailed or of any member of the person's family or household with the intent to threaten, terrify, or harass."

If convicted of cyberstalking, which Mouton says is a felony, Hebert faces up to one year in prison and up to $2,000 in fines, or both. If convicted for stalking, Hebert could receive a maximum one year prison sentence and up to $1,000 in fines.

Prosecutors filed a bill of information against Hebert Oct. 17. His arraignment is set for Nov. 27.

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