MARTINSBURG, W.Va. (DC News Now) — A man from Hagerstown was charged with cyberstalking after officials said he harassed his ex-girlfriend on social media.

A release from the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of West Virginia released a statement on Thursday stating that 44-year-old Derik Wayne Bowers was indicted in Martinsburg.

The statement said Bowers sent his ex-girlfriend “thousands of harassing text messages” over several months. He also “harassed and intimidated” her through phone calls and on Facebook, as well as sending “thousands of harassing text messages over a several month period.”

The statement said that Bowers also made posts on social media “to embarrass her and interfere with her livelihood.”

Cyberstalking is a pervasive problem that we treat very seriously in West Virginia. I encourage those who are being intimidated online and who suffer substantial emotional distress as a result to file a police report so that wrongdoers may be investigated and held to account.

United States Attorney William Ihlenfeld

If Bowers is convicted, he will face up to five years in prison.