A 19-year-old man has been arrested and charged with “sextorting” the new Miss Teen USA.
Jared James Abrahams of Temecula, Calif. told the FBI that he hacked the webcams of the newly crowned Miss Teen USA Cassidy Wolf as well as several other young women to take nude pictures of them. He also said that he then blackmailed the women to send him more explicit photos or he would reveal the compromising photos to the public, according to CNN.
Wolf told authorities that Abrahams demanded that she submit to his demands or he would post the nude photos he had of her "all over the Internet" and "your dream of being a model will be transformed into a pornstar," according to the Associated Press.
His other victims were women from all around the world, with some of them underage.
Abrahams, a college freshman studying computer science, said that he used 30 to 40 different computers to spy on the women.
E! News reports that the FBI began investigating Abrahams in March on suspicion of “sextortion” after Wolf alerted authorities to Abraham’s demands. Following their investigation, they went into Abrahams’ home in June to retrieve computers, his hacking software, and cell phones.
Authorities said that Abrahams knew Wolf prior to cyber-stalking her.
Abrahams surrendered to the FBI on Thursday and was charged with federal extortion. CNN reports that he was released later in the day "on intensive pretrial supervision and home detention with electronic monitoring" after $50,000 worth of bail bonds were signed by his parents.
Photo courtesy of Glenn Francis, www.PacificProDigital.com/Wikimedia Commons.
