US man allegedly sold explicit photos of high school students as part of a sextortion scheme

LOS ANGELES: On July 2, a San Fernando Valley man was charged with using Instagram to post and sell sexually explicit images of high school students without their consent and threatening to post more images as part of a sextortion scheme.

A federal grand jury has indicted 23-year-old Sylmar resident Alejandro Garcia Aranda with promoting and distributing child pornography and sending threatening messages with the intent to extort money, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Central District of California.

The June 27 indictment alleges that Aranda promoted explicit photos on an Instagram account called “valleyhoezzz818” with the stated goal of embarrassing women in the Valley. He allegedly targeted girls attending schools in the San Fernando Valley and used Cash App, Venmo, PayPal and Zelle to sell his sexually explicit merchandise.

Authorities said Aranda sent the pictures to the customers via direct message on Instagram after payment was received. When the girls discovered the photos were being promoted and distributed, Aranda allegedly tried to get more photos from them by threatening to post more pictures online.

If convicted, Aranda faces a minimum sentence of 15 years and a maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison. He faces five to 20 years in prison for the promotion of child pornography and up to two years for the racketeering charge. – Los Angeles Times/Tribune News Service