Guilty plea likely in Miss Teen USA extortion case
Nov 12, 2013, 9:36 AM
SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) – A 19-year-old computer science student is expected to plead guilty Tuesday to hacking the computers of Miss Teen USA and other young women to force them to send nude photographs or undress on camera for him.
A hearing is set for Jared James Abrahams in Orange County where he’s expected to enter his plea, defense attorney Alan Eisner said. Abrahams agreed last month to plead guilty to three counts of extortion and one count of unauthorized access of a computer. He faces up to 11 years in federal prison and fines of up to $1 million.
Abrahams hacked into the computers of Miss Teen USA Cassidy Wolf and several other women from various states and countries, authorities said. He was then able to control the webcams and surreptitiously photograph them, authorities said.
Abrahams would then send the victims anonymous emails telling them he had downloaded nude photos of them and would publish the images on social media sites if they didn’t send him additional pictures or undress for him, according to court documents. If they complied, he promised to destroy the images. At least two of his victims caved in to his demands, authorities said.
In Wolf’s case, Abrahams posted a naked photo of her online after she didn’t respond to him, authorities said. He also was able to take nude photos of her without her knowledge, authorities said.
According to an FBI affidavit, he told Wolf, who was an acquaintance, “your dream of being a model will be transformed into a pornstar.”
Wolf, also 19 and a graduate of Great Oak High School in Temecula, won the Miss Teen USA crown in August.
Abrahams is accused of employing similar hacking tactics used by a Florida man who was sentenced to 10 years in prison last year after he broke into the personal online accounts of Scarlett Johansson, Christina Aguilera and other women and posted revealing photos and other material on the Internet.
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