The Orange County Criminal Lawyer Blog
39-year-old Ali Borji worked as a professor at the University of Central Florida when he dated a student for a short time and allegedly proceeded to stalk her long after their relationship ceased.
Borji, who was an instructor of computer science at UCF, connected with a woman through the use of the dating site eHarmony. After they met in person last June, Borji began to engage in a relationship with the woman, who was pursuing her Ph.D. at the university.
The woman decided to break off the coupling not long after they began dating, but Borji allegedly did not want to end it. She reportedly asked him to leave her alone but he would not comply, and he continued to pursue her and send her several text messages a day. In one 24-hour period, Borji allegedly sent 800 digital messages to the victim. He also expressed his desire to create an artificial intelligence replica of her.
Borji additionally reportedly showed up at the gym where the woman works out and watched her through the window while texting her and saying, “You should be happy that somebody likes you this much to stalk you.”
In October, the woman again attempted to ask Borji to leave her alone before she was forced to notify law enforcement, but he allegedly ignored her requests. She decided that she would transfer schools for the fall term and return to the university at a later time hoping that it would diffuse the situation.
In the spring when the purported victim transferred back to UCF Borji is said to have resumed stalking her.
According to reports, the woman notified the authorities on Tuesday after she believed that she saw him trailing her in his car while she was driving.
On Thursday, police went to Borji’s office at the school and took him into custody for the allegations. He is facing charges of two counts of stalking, both misdemeanors, and was ordered to pay $1,000 bail.
When Borji was interrogated he reportedly said that he did not understand what was wrong with the way he acted due to cultural differences. Documents reflect that when he became aware he expressed his desire to apologize to the woman.
UCF has banned Borji from the premises, and before his arrest, he handed in a letter of resignation.
If you or someone you love is suspected of stalking, contact Orange County criminal defense lawyer Staycie R. Sena at (949) 477-8088 for a consultation now.