Former cop allegedly hacked college email accounts, accessed women's nude photos

MOUNT LAUREL – A former cop accused of hacking social media accounts to access women’s nude photos allegedly found his victims through email accounts at a local school, authorities say.

Ayron Taylor, 22, of Delran “illegally accessed” more than 2,800 email accounts at Rowan College at Burlington County, according to the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office.

“Some of this activity occurred while he was on duty and sitting in his patrol car, utilizing personal electronic devices,” the prosecutor’s office said Friday while announcing 87 new charges against Taylor.

Taylor, initially charged in October with targeting one woman, is now accused of hacking social media and email accounts of 18 additional victims.

The prosecutor’s office said Taylor “in several instances” distributed the women’s nude photos to people on their contact lists.

“The investigation determined the commonality among all victims was that each one had a student email account (at RCBC),” the prosecutor’s office said.

The college has cooperated with the investigation, it noted.

The school’s president, Michael A. Cioce, said RCBC “immediately strengthened network security upon the first report of the incident.”

“Although there was no systemic failure of the college’s technology infrastructure, there is always opportunity for stronger security measures,” he said in a statement.

Individuals with an RCBC email account and who suspect that their private photos were shared without authorization are asked to contact investigators at bcpohtc@co.burlington.nj.us.

Taylor's attorney, Kenneth Aita of Haddonfield, said "“I once again ask that people refrain from pre-judging the case. Mr. Taylor is presumed innocent."

There is a voluminous amount "of evidence to sift through," Aita continued. "We have no further comment on the case at this time and we will be letting the matter play out in court”.

The new complaints against Taylor allege 28 counts of second-degree crimes that include computer criminal activity and distribution of child pornography.

The child-porn charges were brought because some of the photos allegedly distributed by Taylor showed the women when they were minors.

The remaining 59 counts are third degree charges that include elements of computer theft and other cyber-related crimes.

The charges are only allegations. Taylor has not been convicted in the case.

Taylor was charged in October after an Evesham woman told police that an unknown party had accessed nude photos on her Snapchat and Facebook pages.

The hacker sent the photos to the woman’s Facebook friends and posted them on her Facebook wall.

A probable cause statement for Taylor's arrest in October said investigators believed the case had "numerous other" victims.

Taylor became a full-time officer in Mount Laurel after graduating from the police academy in October 2021. He was suspended after his arrest, pending termination, and has since resigned from the department, the prosecutor’s office said.

Taylor was taken into custody on the new charges Wednesday. He was released after a court appearance Friday.

Jim Walsh is a senior reporter with the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal.

This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Former cop allegedly hacked Rowan College at Burlington County emails