Miami-Dade County courts issued restraining orders against University of Miami Miller School of Medicine student Alex Zhang, 25, on behalf of two women last week after Mr. Zhang allegedly posted photos of the two unidentified women and dozens of others on pornography websites, the Miami Herald reports.
Mr. Zhang allegedly uploaded the photos, taken from the women's Facebook pages or other social media accounts, to pornographic fetish websites, and often identified the women by name and included lewd captions, according to the report.
Links to the websites do not appear to have been sent to the women's families, the report states.
According to one student's restraining order, she filed complaints with the university several times since December 2015 regarding Mr. Zhang's "repeated acts of stalking and harassment" and of him taking unauthorized photographs of her at a local bar.
In April 2016, the university reportedly issued a "no contact order" against Mr. Zhang, and the woman filed a stalking and sexual harassment complaint with the university, according to the report. School administration also ordered Mr. Zhang to delete the photos of the woman from his phone. He was allowed to remain a student at the university.
The woman's petition states Mr. Zhang was still a medical student at the University of Miami earlier this month when victims found at least eight websites with "hundreds" of photos of fellow female medical students. Officials linked Mr. Zhang to the case because some of the photos on the websites included the photos Mr. Zhang had been ordered to delete, the report states.
A second student's petition for a restraining order claimed photos of more than 50 female students from the university had been uploaded to various pornographic websites. The petition also claimed Mr. Zhang still retains his university identification card, which grants him access to campus facilities, according to the report.
Mr. Zhang did not respond to the Miami Herald's requests for comment.
A spokesperson for the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine told Becker's Hospital Review via email Wednesday, "Federal statutes prevent us from commenting regarding any ongoing student matter. Regardless, creating and maintaining a safe and nurturing environment in which our students can learn is among the University’s highest priorities. In compliance with Title IX, it is also our commitment to thoroughly investigate and adjudicate any allegations of inappropriate behavior among our students, while at the same time providing a safe atmosphere as an inquiry moves forward."
"The University is always prepared to take appropriate steps as needed to ensure the optimum learning environment for all of our students. In this regard, the University has retained the services of a nationally-recognized firm to assist those members of the University community affected by the unauthorized postings," the spokesperson added.
The university has also issued an internal investigation into Mr. Zhang.
To read the full Miami Herald story, click here.