A man from the San Fernando Valley was charged on Tuesday with sextortion for reportedly using Instagram to post and sell sexy photos of high school girls without their permission and then threatening to post more photos.
A 23-year-old man from Sylmar was charged by a federal grand jury with advertising child pornography, distributing child pornography, and sending threatening messages with the intent to extort, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.
According to the indictment from June 27, Aranda advertised sexual pictures on Instagram under the name “valleyhoezzz818.” His stated goal was to make women in the Valley feel bad about themselves. He reportedly went after girls from schools in the San Fernando Valley and sold sexually explicit items through Cash App, Venmo, PayPal, and Zelle.
The police said that after getting paid, Aranda sent the pictures to buyers through direct messages on Instagram. When the girls found out that the photos were being shared and advertised, Aranda reportedly threatened to post more photos online if they didn’t give him more photos.
Aranda could get between 15 and 30 years in federal jail if he is found guilty of advertising child pornography, 5 to 20 years for distributing child pornography, and up to 2 years for extortion.
A Guy From the San Fernando Valley is Being Charged With Sextortion for Selling Racy Photos of High School Girls
