Female University of Miami medical students are outraged after their personal photos appeared on adult fetish websites.
Female University of Miami medical students are outraged after their personal photos appeared on adult fetish websites.
According to the Miami Herald, their own classmate, Alex Zhang, is believed to be responsible.
The posts are said to have identified each of the women photographed by name and included lewd captions, some of which appeared to threaten rape.
Photos were uploaded to various sites, some of which were dedicated to foot fetishes, the publication noted.
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Zhang, 25, has been suspended from the University of Miami medical program and is the subject of an internal investigation by the school.
The Miami Herald reported that the scandal was brought to the attention of school officials last week after two of the victims discovered their own photos on unidentified sex fetish sites.
Both women filed restraining orders against Zhang, online court records confirmed.
According to the newspaper, Zhang’s behavior was known to the school and his classmates.
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Court filings, obtained by the Miami Herald, revealed a number of complaints against him at the university since December 2015.
Zhang was allegedly accused of “repeated acts of stalking and harassment.” He was also said to have taken unauthorized photos of the victim at a Wynwood, Fla., bar.
Another complaint was filed against Zhang in April 2016, alleging that he sexually assaulted another student. He was allowed to stay in school, though the victim was granted a restraining order. Zhang was not arrested for this alleged incident.
According to the Miami Herald, Zhang also allegedly harassed a fellow student during his freshman year at the University of Miami.
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He did so “via text message, Facebook message, and Snapchat,” a restraining order petition obtained by the outlet revealed.
On one occasion, Zhang reportedly showed up at the school library shortly after he received a Snapchat from the young woman in question and tried to sit with her.
She blocked him on all forms of social media and was told by school administrators to leave her alone, the petition revealed.
Zhang allegedly continued to harass her, however. In March 2016 he reportedly went out to a bar and “offered to buy students drinks and offered money in exchange for viewing (her) Facebook photos.”
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The following month he arrived at a Wynwood bar where she was for a birthday party and allegedly began taking photos of her.
A no contact order was reportedly issued by the school after the incident.
The medical school declined to comment on Zhang’s alleged behavior, citing federal laws designed to protect student privacy.
“It is also our commitment to thoroughly investigate and adjudicate any allegations of inappropriate behavior among our students, while at the same time providing a safe atmosphere as an inquiry moves forward,” officials said in a statement to the Miami Herald.
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The State Attorney’s Office is reportedly reviewing the matter following a notification from one of the victims.
According to Mary Ann Franks, a law professor at the University of Miami, this case isn’t going to be easy to settle.
The photos were posted on sites modeled in a bulletin-board fashion. Each of the sites caters to users with foot fetishes and an affinity for “creep shots,” which allow the user to sexualize photos taken in public places.
Each picture was reportedly taken off social media.
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According to the Miami Herald, it does not appear the photos were sent to the victims or their families after being posted on the websites.
As such, Franks thinks it’ll be difficult to prove this was an attempt to target the women in question.
“As a legal matter, it’s unclear where this falls because so much of this behavior is not directed directly at the victim, and therefore may not qualify as stalking and harassment,” she explained.
Zhang, who is not facing any criminal charges in the case, did not return the Daily News’ request for comment
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