Probation For Beverly Man In OkCupid Threat Case

BEVERLY, MA —A federal judge sentenced a Beverly man who sent threatening letters to the CEO of an online dating site to two years probation last week. Liam MacLeod, 48, had previously pleaded guilty to sending the letters, which he claimed contained anthrax and virus-tainted blood. Federal prosecutors said MacLeod sent the letters to OkCupid's headquarters after being barred from using the site.

The criminal complaint against MacLeod said between September and December 2017, OkCupid received the letters at its corporate headquarters in Dallas. A letter addressed to CEO Ariel Charytan was sent on Sept. 12 and contained white powder and a handwritten note that read "Greeting from Beverly Ban me will ya Welcome to the wonderful world of ANTHRAX Expect a package within the next couple of days It won't be ticking but it should be interesting!

Prosecutors say MacLeod mailed another letter addressed to the CEO two days later. In that letter, the note read "How'd you like what I sent you? Aww, go take a powder. Oh, the things I have in store for you! I can go on like this for years. How long can you last? Incidentally, my father was an angel: That's Hell's Angel to you. You see, we have some pull. Take for example your vehicles. We now know who owns what, and where each of you parks his. Hmm, think of the possibilities!"

MacLeod was also accused of sending the company a piece of paper stained with blood that he claimed was infected with the AIDs virus. Between Oct. 4 and Dec. 21, 2017, MacLeod sent five more threats, each of which required a Hazmat team response, the criminal complaint said.