Stalker Sent LI Woman 50,000 Messages In 1 Day: DA

EAST ISLIP, NY — A Texas man was indicted on multiple charges last week after authorities said he stalked an East Islip woman he met online — and went so far as to send 50,000 messages to her in one day.

Adil Khan, 25, was arrested in April after police organized a sting and said he tried to meet her and brought a gun. He was charged with stalking, harassment and illegal possession of a weapon.

Khan started contacting the victim on Instagram in August 2019 and she eventually asked him to stop, according to Suffolk County District Attorney Timothy Sini. Instead, he continued to contact her, sending hundreds of messages a day to her using fake accounts on various social media apps, Sini said.

On one occasion, the victim received 50,000 social media and text notifications in a single day from Khan, according to the district attorney. Khan sent her messages telling her to kill herself, as well as messages pretending to be from other people claiming that she had caused Khan to die by suicide, Sini said.

The victim changed her phone number last year and Khan used social media to contact her friends and family members and offer them up to $500 in exchange for her new phone number, according to Sini.

The district attorney said on April 3, the victim’s mother found a handwritten note on the victim’s car, which was parked in the driveway of her home in East Islip, that read, “Do I have your attention now?”

Khan sent the victim a message on Instagram that said, “Did you get the card on your windshield wiper?” He later sent another message asking the victim if she would like to meet in person. The victim contacted police, who organized a sting operation in which Khan believed he was meeting the victim at the parking lot of a Boston Market in East Islip, according to Sini.

He was arrested at the parking lot and police found a loaded, 9mm handgun, a loaded, high-capacity magazine, and a box of ammunition for the handgun in his car, Sini said.

Khan was charged with second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, second-degree aggravated harassment and fourth-degree stalking.

"This is a highly disturbing case, and it highlights a common thread we see in many of our cases in which offenders initiate contact with victims over social media under the guise of friendship and end up causing them harm in some way — whether it’s through harassment, like in this case; sextortion; or even rape," Sini said. “This is a good reminder that people need to be extremely cautious about the people they are communicating with online, and I urge any residents receiving threatening or concerning messages to report it to law enforcement."

Khan was arraigned Thursday by Suffolk County Supreme Court Justice Richard Horowitz and bail was set at $25,000 cash, $50,000 bond, or $100,000 partially-secured bond.

The court also imposed electronic monitoring and ordered Khan not to return to New York except for court dates if he posts bail. He is due back in court June 7.

If convicted of the top count, Khan faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.