9 charges against him. Colton testified that William told Colton that he had sent the letter.7 Even though the allegations were false, reading the letter was "very tough" and "absolutely alarmed [Jim]." Throughout this entire time period, Colton consistently kept in contact with both defendants, letting them know what he was doing or had done to the Lyons family. William and Gail acquiesced to Colton's conduct and encouraged him to do more. Procedural history. Police traced the relevant Internet activity back to Colton, who was charged on June 5, 2008, with stalking and identity fraud. jail before posting bail. Colton spent seventeen days in On August 14, 2008, Colton made a statement taking responsibility for the Internet postings and emails and implicating the defendants in the scheme. The Johnsons were charged on October 16, 2008, in Lawrence District Court with making a false report of child abuse (G. L. c. 119, § 51A [c]); identity fraud (G. L. c. 266, § 37E); conspiracy (G. L. c. 274, § 7); and criminal harassment (G. L. c. 265, § 43A [a]). 7 Colton entered into a written plea On cross-examination, Colton acknowledged that, in a 2008 statement, he told police that William showed him a copy of this letter in person while meeting with him somewhere near the Andover office of the Internal Revenue Service, and that, in a 2010 statement, he stated that William had called him and read aloud a "sick letter" that he had already sent to Jim.