A Mississippi man, who the US Secret Service charges has cyber stalked and blackmailed women across the state on Facebook, was captured and taken into custody Monday.
The Secret Service has been working with Facebook and with alleged victims to compile enough evidence against Scottie Lee Boykin of Columbus, Miss., to move in on the alleged predator, for nearly 18 months.
Special Agent David Polson, who was assigned to the case and became personally invested, says this case “involved counterfeit money, extortion and cyberstalking.”
“As the Secret Service, we not only protect the president and vice president, but we also have an investigative mission, which is to protect the financial integrity of the United States,” he added.
Accompanied by his wife, Boykin appeared before federal judge Roy Percy in the federal courthouse in Oxford Monday afternoon.
He was apprehended by Secret Service agents along with US Marshal’s Service and local law enforcement, early Monday, around 5:30 a.m.
They executed a warrant that was issued by a judge and they retrieved some of Boykins personal items from his home to help in the indictment.
“We knew he’d be leaving for work early this morning, so we just basically had agents and officers spread out through the neighborhood and we decided that when he came out of his house on his way to his vehicle, would probably be the safest time to take him intocustody.”
Polson says Boykin’s unsuspecting wife and children were home and inside at the time.
The United States charges Boykin with cyberstalking the women, blackmailing them and with counterfeiting currency.
Other unique details of exactly how he had been allegedly victimizing the many women in Mississippi, are yet to be made public knowledge, due to the ongoing court proceedings.
Some of the alleged victims tell Polson they are willing to testify against Boykin, should the case go to trial.
If convicted on all counts, Boykin faces nearly 30 years in prison and nearly a million dollars in fines.
Attorney for Boykin, Mathew Wilson, said “he [Boykin] has pled ‘not guilty’ and we will be examining this matter further and we’ll be appearing in court when they tell us to come the next time.”
As of Monday afternoon, Boykin was released on $25,000 bail and was headed home wearing an ankle monitor, until his next appearance in federal court.