ByWTOC Staff|April 23, 2021 at 4:58 PM EDT - Updated April 23 at 4:58 PM
BOSTON, Mass. (WTOC) - A graduate student attending the University of Georgia was arrested on Friday for allegedly extorting a Massachusetts woman for videos, photographs and communications of a sexual nature and cyberstalking her for a year and a half, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the District of Massachusetts.
Gary E. Leach, 23, of Athens has been charged with one count of cyberstalking and one count of extortion through interstate threats. Leach is expected to appear in federal court in the Middle District of Georgia on Friday.
Beginning in October 2019, Leach is alleged to have received private video calls and photographs from the victim after making false promises to pay her, according to charging documents. Leach also allegedly recorded calls with the victim without her knowledge. Leach then threatened to share the recordings with her family if she did not continue to send him content over Instagram, according to the release. The U.S. Attorney’s Office of the District of Massachusetts says Leach continued the online harassment and extortion over anonymous Instagram accounts that sometimes included a variation of the username “u.kno_who.”
Leach told the victim that he had extorted other Instagram users and recorded other women without their knowledge, claiming in one message, “Sweetheart I have hundreds of vids and thousands of pictures meticulously categorized by name,” according to the release.
If you believe you have been a victim of these crimes, the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the District of Massachusetts asks that youcontact the FBIatLeachIGvictims@fbi.gov.
You can read the full criminal complaint below. Some content may be graphic.
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Photo: U.S. Attorney's Office District of Massachusetts