Robbinsville Man Arrested for Cyberstalking

The following press release has been issued by Cherokee County Sheriff's Office.  All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Murphy, NC— Sheriff Derrick Palmer announced the October 6th, arrest of 54-year-old Mark Newlyn Patterson of Robbinsville, North Carolina for cyberstalking.

In June of 2017, the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office received reports of a male individual sending unsolicited and unwanted indecent videos via the Social Networking Application Facebook.com. As the investigation progressed, numerous search warrants of Facebook.com accounts were served. Additionally, several cellular telephones were seized and examined. Through those examinations and comparing the records received from Facebook.com, the investigator was able to develop probable cause and present the matter to the Cherokee County Magistrate who issued a warrant for Patterson’s arrest.

Patterson was arrested at the Cherokee County Detention Center where the Magistrate set a $1000.00 unsecure bond and gave additional conditions to have no contact with the victim. Patterson is expected to be in Cherokee County District Court on October 17th, 2017.

Sheriff Palmer stated, “These are very time consuming cases involving several court orders and additional technical expertise. We do not feel this is a single incident and ask if there are any additional victims to please contact Detective Williams so that he can follow up. This case is a prime example of the dangers that are out on the internet.”

​Sheriff Palmer encourages anyone that has information on this crime or any other to report it. To report crime in Cherokee County you can call the anonymous tip line at 828-837-1344 or email a tip at crime.tips@cherokeecounty-nc.gov or call 911 if you observe a crime in progress.