Alabama man arrested in connection with sexual blackmail of Lowell teenager

BENTONVILLE – An Alabama man was ordered held on $100,000 bail Tuesday after being arrested in connection with threatening to distribute nude photos of a teenage girl.

Dylan Echols, 22, of Cottondale, was booked into the Benton County Jail on Thursday. He was arrested on charges of sexual extortion and producing, directing or promoting a sexual performance by a child. Prosecutors have not filed formal charges.

Lowell police began investigating in 2022 after receiving a report that Echols had threatened a girl if she did not continue to send him sexually explicit and nude images of herself, according to a probable cause affidavit.

According to the affidavit, the girl went there with her mother and sister on September 28, 2022 to file a stalking report.

She said she had been in an online relationship with Echols for a month. Echols claimed he was 19 at the time, the affidavit states. She said the two communicated via FaceTime and Snapchat, and she eventually shared videos and photos of her nude with Echols, the affidavit states.

According to the digital website Tuscaloosa Thread, the 16-year-old girl ended her relationship with Echols after she found out that he was also talking to her underage sister.

According to the thread, Echols threatened to share the pictures the girl sent him and demanded more photos of both girls. He also sent a message threatening to drive to Arkansas to rape the girls.

According to the affidavit, he also threatened to show the pictures to the girls’ mothers.

An investigator with the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff’s Office called Lowell police in March 2023 to report that he intended to execute a search warrant on Echols, the affidavit states. The investigator later reported finding incriminating images on electronic devices seized from Echols, the affidavit states.

The investigator said he questioned Echols, who admitted to exchanging pictures and videos with the girl and threatening to distribute nude photos of her if she did not continue the relationship.

Echols’ arraignment is scheduled for 8 a.m. on July 8 in Benton County District Judge Brad Karren’s court.