Former Ravn Air Group executive arrested in Florida, charged with cyberstalking 19-year-old

Former Ravn Air Group executive Bruce William Joseph was arrested in Florida on Tuesday morning, accused of cyberstalking and harassing a 19-year-old woman after she allegedly broke off a relationship with him, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

Joseph, 57, has been charged with aggravated stalking, a felony; criminal use of personal identification; and sexual cyber harassment. He was taken to Pinellas County jail in Clearwater, Florida.

Police said Joseph and the woman had met in 2015, when she was in high school, and he was chaperoning a school trip, the Times reported. Police said the two waited until she graduated before engaging in a consensual sexual relationship, and Joseph visited her regularly at college, the Times reported.

But when the woman — now 19 — ended the relationship late last year, Joseph began to harass her online, police said, according to the Times.

Joseph sent nude photos of the woman to her family and friends, created social media profiles in her name and started having conversations with men who thought they were talking to her, the Times reported. Police said that on two occasions, men showed up at the woman's home believing they were going to have sex with her, according to the Times.

A private investigator for the victim's family told WTSP news station in Florida that Joseph had "utilized numerous aliases and had relationships with many young women around the country. I hope now that he has been arrested, if there are other victims out there, that they will feel safe coming forward."

Joseph began working for Ravn Air Group on April 1 as the executive vice president of safety, security and compliance. His experience as an airline pilot and accident investigator was touted in an article welcoming Joseph to the company.

By Sept. 21, he was no longer employed at Ravn, wrote Debbie Reinwand, president and CEO of Brilliant Media Strategies, on behalf of Ravn Air Group.

"Today was the first time we heard of this situation. This individual has not been with the company for almost six months, following the termination of his employment for matters unrelated to this news or any such behavior," Dave Pflieger, Ravn President and CEO, said in a written statement.

"He was only employed for a short time last year … we understand that he permanently left Alaska shortly thereafter," Pflieger said.