BOSTON – An Idaho man, Edward John Kay, was sentenced today in federal court in Boston to two years in prison for cyberstalking a Massachusetts online university professor. Kay, 54, of Rigby, Idaho, had pleaded guilty in January 2026 to one count of cyberstalking after harassing the victim for nearly six months.
Kay's obsession began in January 2025 after enrolling in the victim’s online course and attending one Zoom meeting and one virtual class session. He subsequently dropped the course but proceeded to send over 80 harassing and intimidating communications via email and LinkedIn between January and July 2025. He also posted publicly about the victim on LinkedIn.
The communications varied, oscillating between expressions of love and admiration to threats against the victim's safety and livelihood, sometimes mentioning her minor child by name. In one LinkedIn message, Kay said, “I miss you-truly, deeply- with all of my heart and soul. That day I saw you on Zoom…You were the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.” Conversely, he threatened to file a licensing board complaint against the victim unless the university met his demands, adding that this was only the “VERY BEGINNING” because “Every day, starting today, will mark a new action of serious consequence.”
After his arrest in July 2025, Kay's partner informed law enforcement that Kay believed he would build a compound in Wyoming to live with the victim and her child. In addition to his prison sentence, U.S. District Court Judge Julia E. Kobick ordered Kay to serve three years of supervised release and pay $16,586.31 in restitution. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Allegra Flamm, with assistance from the FBI Boston Division, FBI Salt Lake City, and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.