Hennepin deputy charged with stalking online dating match

A Hennepin County deputy has been charged with stalking an Apple Valley, Minn. woman after admitting he was messaging her too much and “blowing up her phone.”  Brian Rhett Johnson, 31, of Blaine, Minn., first met the victim in June through an online dating site. The victim ended their relationship on Aug. 24.

In the following weeks, Johnson sent repeated Facebook messages to the victim, claiming he needed to see her and could not move on without her. The victim told police she had asked Johnson numerous times to stop messaging her, but he refused. The victim blocked Johnson's cell phone number and Facebook account, but he continued to message using new accounts with different variations of his name.

The victim said she was afraid of Johnson because he had told her he was a police officer and owned several weapons.

Police arrested Johnson on Sept. 11. Johnson admitted he was “blowing up her phone” and said he understood why she would be afraid of him.

Investigators are still looking into whether Johnson also accessed the victim’s personal records to find out where she lived.