He boasted on social media about paying strangers to take photos of his kids and ex-partner. Now he’s below arrest.

A former Chicago resident who publicly boasted about paying social media followers to take photos of his kids and ex-partner in violation of a restraining order was arrested on fraud prices in Florida final week.

Micah Berkley, 41, had excellent warrants in Cook dinner County, Miami and Florida’s Palm Seaside County on the time of his arrest, in line with the Miami-Dade Police Division. He’s being held with out bond pending an extradition listening to later this month, in line with data from Miami-Dade County Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

He faces extradition to each Palm Seaside and Cook dinner counties, legislation enforcement data present. It’s unclear which jurisdiction will try and resolve its authorized issues with him first, although each Illinois and Florida authorities stated the felony case out Palm Seaside will possible take priority.

Berkley — a pc whiz with a major social media following — was featured in a recent Chicago Tribune story about cyberstalking and electronic harassment after he acknowledged paying strangers to take pictures and movies of his twin daughters and their mom, Dominique Ward, regardless of a restraining order that barred him from harassing or intimidating them.

He advised the Tribune he believed he had a First Modification proper to solicit the photographs and had paid about $6,000 for photographs prior to now two years. He described it as “technological warfare” to combat again towards custody and youngster assist rulings that didn’t go his manner.

The Tribune couldn’t independently verify he had paid that quantity for the photographs. His social media posts, nevertheless, indicated he had individuals following Ward close to her house, whereas purchasing at Goal and even on the women’ college.

“I hear she’s scared,” Berkley stated earlier this yr. “She must be scared. She must be terrified. I would like her to fret about who’s ready on the nook at any time when she walks outdoors.”

Unrelated to Berkley’s Fb exercise, a Cook dinner County decide issued a physique attachment for him earlier this yr, permitting for his detainment in mild of greater than $50,000 in unpaid youngster assist, data present. Such orders are much like bench warrants, although they’re hardly ever executed in civil circumstances the place the topics reside out of state.

The court docket order — together with a video Berkley posted of a digital court docket listening to, in violation of state legislation — allowed the Cook dinner County sheriff’s workplace to turn out to be concerned in Ward’s state of affairs after the Chicago Police Division, the FBI and native prosecutors stated they might not do something about his social media posts. Although sheriff’s detectives usually don’t become involved with out-of-state youngster assist circumstances, issues for Ward’s security contributed to their determination to open a case, a spokesman stated.

“It was regarding,” Cook dinner County sheriff’s workplace spokesman Matthew Walberg stated. “However there have been different causes to go and pursue the person.”

Cook dinner County sheriff’s detectives had labored with their Miami-Dade counterparts since March to find Berkley, who additionally had an excellent warrant in Miami after he allegedly did not return a rental automobile and one other in Palm Seaside County on allegations that he assumed the identification of an Ohio man with an identical title, data present. His social media postings are usually not referenced in any of the arrest data made public late final week.

In keeping with police experiences, Berkley additionally supplied a pretend title and birthdate when he was arrested Aug. 28.

It was unclear from court docket data if Berkley has an lawyer.

Ward and her lawyer, Lindsay Nathan, spent a number of years attempting to get legislation enforcement to research Berkley’s social media posts. Each expressed reduction at Berkley’s arrest.

“He’s not in jail for something associated to the restraining order, however I’m glad he’s there,” Ward stated. “I’ll get some peace for the primary time in a really very long time.”

Ward’s state of affairs spotlighted how troublesome it’s for targets of digital harassment and cyberstalking to have their issues taken severely.

Public data present Ward went to the Chicago Police Division no less than twice to file an digital harassment report since 2021. Every time, she says, officers advised her it might be troublesome to show her former boyfriend was behind the keyboard when the messages have been posted and that prosecutors can be reluctant to cost the case.

A Tribune evaluation discovered the Chicago Police Division receives 1000’s of digital harassment and cyberstalking complaints every year, greater than a 3rd of that are categorized as domestic-related. In 2023, for instance, greater than 2,400 individuals reported being electronically harassed or cyberstalked in Chicago — with greater than 800 of them saying the alleged abuse was perpetrated by somebody with whom they’ve a familial or intimate relationship.

Of these 824 domestic-related complaints final yr, solely 9 — barely greater than 1% — resulted in an arrest.

It’s an arrest charge greater than 15 occasions decrease than different home crimes in 2023, together with battery and order-of-protection violations. Of extra generally reported crimes, solely these involving deception — corresponding to pickpocketing, unauthorized bank card use and confidence video games — have decrease arrest charges.

Ward additionally has known as on Meta — Fb’s and Instagram’s father or mother firm — to make it simpler to report and take away problematic accounts. Regardless of Ward’s frequent requests to have Berkley’s pages eliminated, the social media firm didn’t deactivate his account till Gov. JB Pritzker’s workplace intervened and demanded the pages be taken down.

A Meta spokesman has stated the corporate couldn’t focus on particular circumstances however said that Fb responds to requests from legislation enforcement to take away posts.