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Professor Allegedly Stalked Student With 800 Texts A Day, Wanted To Make Artificial Intelligence Version Of Her
"You should be happy that somebody likes you this much to stalk you," University of Central Florida assistant professor Ali Borji allegedly told the victim.
A University of Central Florida assistant professor was arrested for allegedly stalking a student, sending her 800 messages a day and once telling her he wanted to make an artificial intelligence version of her so he "could do anything he wanted," authorities say.
Ali Borji, 39, was arrested Thursday at his office on campus. He’s been charged with two misdemeanor stalking counts and booked on $1,000 bail, WFLA in Tampa reported.
Borji, who worked in the university's computer science department, met the victim last June on dating site eHarmony while she was obtaining her Ph.D, WMKG in Orlando reported. He even offered her help with her degree program. They dated briefly, but the woman ended their relationship. However, Borji allegedly kept on messaging her and following her, despite the woman’s pleas to stop.
"You should be happy that somebody likes you this much to stalk you," one of his alleged messages said. He even allegedly contacted the victim’s immediate family to profess his love for her, according to Orlando Weekly.
An arrest report details an email in October where the victim told Borji, "stop contacting me or I will report all this to the proper authorities.” Borji’s alleged response?
"Please listen to me! We are just one step away from eternal happiness! Lets (sic) just try one more time please."
Not long after, the victim left the state to get away from Borji, attending another school for the fall semester before returning to UCF in spring 2018. According to the victim, Borji began stalking her again.
Borji allegedly watched the grad student through a gym window and waiting for her in the parking lot, WKMG reported.
Police said a similar report was made against Borji in the past after a woman claimed that he harassed her on eHarmony and contacted her at her office, which violates the terms and conditions of eHarmony. No arrests were made in that case.
It’s unclear if Borji has a lawyer who can speak on his behalf at this time. According to the arrest report, he attributed his behavior to his culture, and said he thought it was okay. It’s not clear what Borji’s culture or religious affiliation is.
The professor has been banned from campus. He also submitted his resignation which went into effect on Sunday.
“Our detectives acted swiftly in this case, as the UCF Police Department does when anyone feels threatened,” University of Central Florida police spokesman Mark Sclueb said in a statement. “We have zero tolerance for this type of behavior.”
[Photo: Orange County Sheriff’s Office]
