A 52-year-old man has been sentenced to five years in prison after admitting to using fake intimate images of his ex-wife to create an online profile four years ago to trick men into harassing her.

Michael Byerly, who has been out on bond since September 2022, appeared Monday in the 137th District Court with his attorney Nicky Boatwright and pleaded guilty to a count of online impersonation, a third-degree felony that carries a punishment of two to 10 years in prison.

Prosecutor Laura Beth Fossett said Byerly admitted to creating a fake account on the internet messaging app Kik, using his ex-wife's information to catfish men, who would then contact her.

His charge stems from a Lubbock police investigation that began in October 2021, when his ex-wife reported she believed Byerly created

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