CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A federal grand jury sitting in Charlotte has returned a criminal indictment charging Amir Salvatore Khayyat, 27, of Charlotte, with cyberstalking and making interstate threats, for sending his victim hundreds of harassing and threatening emails and voicemails, announced Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
Robert R. Wells, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in North Carolina, joins U.S. Attorney Murray in making today’s announcement.
According to allegations in the indictment, in 2017, Khayyat met the victim, identified in court documents as “Jane Doe.” Jane Doe is a licensed clinical psychologist and a credentialed mental health service provider, who met Khayyat in her professional capacity. As alleged in the indictment, from April 2019 to October 2020, Khayyat engaged in an extensive cyberstalking and threats campaign targeting Jane Doe. For approximately 18 months, Khayyat allegedly sent Jane Doe hundreds of harassing emails, including unsolicited sexual imagery, from multiple email addresses, and left numerous harassing voicemails on Jane Doe’s office phone line. Many of the harassing emails and voicemails contained express or implicit threats to harm Jane Doe and law enforcement officers. The indictment further alleges that Khayyat continued to harass and threaten Jane Doe even after she obtained a state court order forbidding Khayyat from communicating with her.
Khayyat is currently in federal custody. The cyberstalking charge and the communicating interstate threats charge each carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The charges against Khayyat are allegations. The defendant is innocent until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt in a court of law.
