MOUNT LAUREL, NJ — A grand jury returned a 97-count indictment against a former police officer accused of hacking into women’s social media accounts and distributing their nude images.
Ayron Taylor, a former Mount Laurel officer, was initially charged in 2022 after investigators found that he accessed victims’ private images and distributed them to people on their contact lists. He performed some of the actions while on duty, according to the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office (BCPO).
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The indictment, returned Feb. 15, includes charges for distributing child pornography, since Taylor accessed images taken before some of the victims became legal adults, the BCPO said. The charges stem from illegal activity that targeted roughly 20 victims — all female — according to the prosecutor’s office.
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Taylor, 24, of Moorestown, was indicted on the following charges:
Taylor came under investigation in September 2022 after the initial victim told Evesham police that an unknown person hacked into her Facebook and Snapchat accounts, according to the BCPO. The photos were then distributed to her Snapchat contacts, messaged to her Facebook friends and posted on her Facebook profile, authorities said.
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Each victim had a student email account through Rowan College at Burlington County (RCBC), which is in Mount Laurel. Investigators found that Taylor illegally accessed about 5,000 email accounts linked to the school, the BCPO said.
Taylor became a full-time officer in October 2021 after graduating from the police academy. Following the initial charges, the Mount Laurel Police Department took immediate action to suspend him, according to the BCPO.
He resigned after measures were taken to terminate his employment.
RCBC officials have cooperated with law enforcement throughout the investigation, the BCPO said.
Taylor’s arraignment is scheduled for March 11 at Superior Court in Mount Holly. The case will then be scheduled for trial.
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