Florida TikTok creator jailed for alleged cyberstalking
(Mark Stephen Asea, booking photo)
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — A Port St. Lucie TikTok creator has been jailed after authorities reopened an investigation into allegations that he accessed private information belonging to women and discussed that information in social media videos.
Mark Stephen Asea, 36, was booked into the St. Lucie County Jail on Sept. 30 on a pending charge involving computer users, according to jail records. His bond was set at $35,000. CBS 12 News reported Oct. 1 that an earlier stalking charge appears to have been dropped.
The case dates back to an investigation reported in May, when detectives with the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office said they reviewed TikTok videos in which Asea allegedly displayed or discussed sensitive information, including a password, device identifiers, banking activity, a license plate number and possible location-tracking information.
Investigators said one woman told police that a password mentioned in a video had been shared only in a private TikTok group and that she had not authorized Asea to access or disclose it. Another woman reportedly told detectives that Asea had previously been given remote access to her computer to assist with an application, but later became concerned when an image from a private Telegram conversation appeared in one of his TikTok posts.
An earlier affidavit also alleged that more than 100 TikTok videos mentioned one of the women, with as many as six posts appearing in a single day. Detectives reviewed videos showing computer equipment and coding while investigating whether electronic devices had been accessed without authorization.
Asea was initially arrested April 15 and faced two counts of unauthorized access to a computer or electronic device and one count of stalking. The investigation was subsequently closed in May before authorities reopened the case and brought the new computer-access charge.
The allegations remain accusations, and the criminal case has not established Asea’s guilt. Authorities previously cited his alleged technical knowledge when recommending restrictions on his access to electronic devices while the case proceeds.
~
(Sources: ABC 4 News, CBS 12 News, St; Luci County Sheriff’s Office, Mark Stephen Asea TikTok)
Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today
Follow Richard on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram
