A San Fernando Valley man was charged Tuesday for allegedly using Instagram to post and sell sexually explicit photos of high school girls without their consent and threatening to post more images in a sextortion scheme.
A federal grand jury indicted Alejandro Garcia Aranda, 23, of Sylmar, on charges of advertising child pornography, distributing child pornography and transmitting threatening communications with intent to extort, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Central District of California.
The June 27 indictment alleges that Aranda advertised explicit photos on an Instagram account under the username “valleyhoezzz818,” whose stated purpose was to shame women in the Valley. He allegedly targeted girls attending San Fernando Valley schools and used Cash App, Venmo, PayPal and Zelle to sell his sexually explicit products.
Authorities said Aranda sent the images to clients via direct messages on Instagram after receiving payments. When the girls discovered the photos were being promoted and distributed, Aranda allegedly attempted to obtain more photos from them by threatening to post more images online.
If convicted, Aranda faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and a maximum of 30 years in federal prison for advertising child pornography, five to 20 years for distributing child pornography, and up to two years for the racketeering charge.
