MATTHEWS, N.C., July 13 (UPI) -- A 27-year-old man allegedly assumed the online identity of a 17-year-old co-worker and sent humiliating e-mails to her friends, police in North Carolina say.

David R. Arts, of Matthews, N.C., was charged with cyberbullying and released without paying bond after promising to appear in court, The Charlotte Observer reported Tuesday.

The e-mails began in May 2009 and the co-worker tolerated them until reporting them to police in February, Matthews police officer Stason Tyrrell said.

Tyrrell called the e-mails sent in the co-worker's name "inappropriate and humiliating" but would not elaborate on their content.

"It's been a traumatic experience for her," he said. "There are serious effects to cyberbullying."

Arts turned himself in at the Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office after being contacted by Matthews police, his lawyer, Rick Winiker, told the Observer.

Winiker said learning of a warrant for his arrest shocked Arts, who declined comment.

"We are looking forward to our day in court on the matter," Winiker said.

The Cyberbullying Research Center defines cyberbullying as "willful and repeated harm inflicted through the use of computers, cellphones and other electronic devices."