LA man accused of using Instagram to commit sextortion arrested
LOS ANGELES - A man was arrested for alleging using Instagram to advertise sexually explicit images of high school girls without their permission, then distributed the material.
Alejandro Garcia Aranda, 23, of Sylmar, was charged with one count of advertisement of child pornography, one count of distribution of child pornography, and one count transmitting threatening communications with intent to extort.
According to the indictment, in April and May of 2020, Aranda used the Instagram handle "valleyhoezzz818" with the self-proclaimed goal of exposing and targeting girls who attended schools in the San Fernando Valley.
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Using payment apps, Aranda allegedly received payments from customers who wanted to obtain sexually explicit content of the victims that he had advertised and offered to sell on Instagram. After receiving payment, Aranda then allegedly sent them a link to a zip file containing the photos. According to the indictment, when Aranda was asked by the victims to stop sharing the photos, he allegedly attempted to extract further additional sexually explicit material from them, including threatening to post additional photographs.
If convicted of all charges, Aranda would face a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison and a statutory maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison for the child pornography advertisement count.