NEWS RELEASE
FCSO Investigation Leads to Arrest of Port Orange Man for Thousands of Harassing Calls and a False Child Abuse Report
Date:Monday, July 20, 2026
BUNNELL, Fla. — A five-month Flagler County Sheriff’s Office investigation has led to the arrest of a Port Orange man who spent months harassing a Flagler County woman with thousands of phone calls and even filed a false child abuse report against her. Detectives ultimately traced the calls back to him despite his attempts to hide behind blocked and internet-based phone numbers.
In February 2026, the victim told detectives with FCSO’s Major Case Unit that she had been receiving thousands of harassing calls and messages from blocked and unknown numbers since March 2025. Some days she received 50 or more calls, and her voicemail was constantly full of recorded messages and random audio clips.
Through investigative means, Major Case detectives and the Cyber Crimes Unit determined the calls came from a network of internet-based phone numbers that were traced to Luke Herbert, 31, of Port Orange. They also determined that Herbert’s personal cell phone placed 213 calls to the woman during one week in early February, with his number disguised so each call would show up as “Unknown.”
The harassment went beyond phone calls. Detectives determined that in December 2025, Herbert also used an internet-based number to file a false report with the Florida Department of Children and Families, claiming the woman and her husband were abusing their children. A child protective investigator responded, found nothing to support the claim, and closed the case as unfounded.
Detectives determined that the only connection between the victim and Herbert was that he had been trespassed from the business the victim worked at.
This was not the first time Herbert had been arrested for making harassing phone calls. In a previous Volusia County case involving nearly identical behavior, he pleaded no contest to making harassing phone calls, and a judge withheld adjudication.
Luke Herbert (Volusia County Jail Mugshot)
“This guy thought he could hide behind blocked numbers and phone apps to make a woman’s life miserable. He even weaponized DCF in an attempt to harass her,” said Sheriff Rick Staly. “I commend our detectives, who spent five months pulling back the curtain on him, following the digital breadcrumbs, and conquering the technological hurdles that would overwhelm others. This proves once again why we established the Cyber Crimes Unit just a few years ago.”
On July 17, FCSO detectives obtained a felony arrest warrant for Herbert. A short time later, the Volusia Sheriff’s Office arrested him at his Port Orange home on the Flagler County warrant for stalking, filing a false report of child abuse, and unlawful use of a two-way communications device. He was transported to the Volusia County Jail, where he was later released on a $12,500 bond.
###