A South Carolina pastor has been indicted on federal charges of allegedly cyberstalking his wife before she died by suicide in 2024, authorities said.

A former South Carolina pastor has been indicted on federal charges of cyberstalking his wife, including allegedly posting a nude photo of her online, before she died by suicide in 2024, authorities said.

A federal grand jury in Columbia, S.C., returned a two-count indictment on Thursday, charging 46-year-old John-Paul Miller with cyberstalking and making false statements to federal investigators, stemming from the investigation into his wife’s death.

“This case underscores the seriousness of domestic violence abuse and related offenses and serves as a reminder that such behavior has no place in our society,” Robeson County, North Carolina, Sheriff Burnis Wilkins said in a statement posted on his office’s Facebook page, along with photos of both John-Paul and Mica Miller.

  • AbouBenAdhem@lemmy.worldEnglish
    523·
    1 day ago

    This (mis)use of “allegedly” is a bit of a pet peeve of mine: he’s not charged with allegedly cyberstalking her, he’s charged with actually doing it. A charge is already a type of allegation, and you can’t just nest in an extra “alleged” for good measure—it’s not idempotent.

    And it matters because sprinkling the word into articles without regard for its meaning gradually strips it of meaning, leaving it with nothing but a general association with crime (which negates its ostensible function).

    • Heydo@lemmy.worldEnglish
      2·
      1 day ago

      pastor has been indicted on federal charges of cyberstalking his wife, including allegedly posting a nude photo of her online,

      The “allegedly” here isn’t referring to the charges, it is referring to the act of posting a nude photo online. They need to use the word allegedly here because he hasn’t been convicted of doing that specific act.

      You would be correct if they said he was being charged with allegedly cyber stalking her. But in this case they stated a specific act, and you can’t publish something that claims someone did something illegal if they haven’t been convicted in court.

      • AbouBenAdhem@lemmy.worldEnglish
        4·
        23 hours ago

        The actual article copy is ok—I was referring to the title (“South Carolina pastor charged with allegedly cyberstalking wife before she died by suicide”).