Months after a New Zealand blogger said she began receiving inappropriate messages and images from a Lawrence man over her Instagram account, the man has been arrested.

Late into the night of Aug. 5, Kalim Akeba Lloyd Dowdell, 19, was arrested and booked into the Douglas County Jail. He was later released after posting a $1,000 bond.

Dowdell faces a single misdemeanor charge of harassment by telecommunications device.

New Zealander Rachel Gronback, 31, who writes about ‘fashion, online shopping and body positivity,’ said Dowdell began sending her sexual messages late last November.

The messages flowed in for several weeks and Gronback said she was eventually able to identify Dowdell as the sender.

At the time he was a student at Lawrence’s Veritas Christian School, she said.

Gronback said she both alerted the school’s faculty and filed a complaint with the Lawrence Police Department in January. She also offered a packet documenting the online correspondence.

Kelli Huslig, Veritas administrator, said in January that she would not discuss student-related issues.

In April Douglas County District Attorney Charles Branson told Gronback his office had enough evidence to file the misdemeanor charge against Dowdell. But if the office was to move forward Gronback would have to commit to coming to the United States, mostly on her own dime, in the event of a trial.

Gronback told Branson she would appear if the case goes to trial, but the ordeal would present a significant financial hardship.

Enter Ron Wilson, a Lawrence area resident willing to help out.

In June Wilson offered to pay Gronback’s way to Kansas. She graciously accepted, although she remains shy of the required funds.

If she’s required to come to Kansas Gronback said she’d feel much more comfortable bringing a “support person” and that will increase the trip’s cost.

As such Gronback set up a crowdfunding account to bridge the rest of the gap. That account can be found online at generosity.com/fundraising/support-rachel-s-fight-against-online-harassment.

Gronback said she heard about Dowdell’s arrest, but nothing official otherwise.

“It feels like it’s taken a really long time to get here, and I am glad my complaint has been taken seriously, and that there was enough evidence to charge him,” she said.

If Dowdell is convicted of the charge, he could face up to 12 months in jail and/or a fine of up to $2,500.

I report on crime and courts for the Journal-World. I can be reached by email at cswanson@ljworld.com, by phone at (785) 832-7284 or on Twitter @Conrad_Swanson.