A phone technician has been arrested after he allegedly sent nude photos of a customer to his own phone while he was supposed to be repairing hers.
As it later emerged, the horrified 18-year-old victim – whose identity is being kept secret – was offered more than A$750 by the shopkeeper in order to remain silent.
The alleged crime happened when the teenage girl went to the Gadget Cure cell phone repair shop in the US city of Cleveland on February 22 to have her phone’s screen repaired.
She gave the technician – identified as 26-year-old Jonathan Petrushansky – her password and went shopping while the device was fixed.
Jonathan Petrushansky, 26, was arrested after the teenager realized her private photos had been shared. Source: Newsflash/Australscope
But less than half an hour later, her Apple Watch – which was linked to her phone – informed her that numerous photos and videos had been sent to an unknown number.
Officials in Cleveland, Texas, said Petrushansky forwarded a total of 65 nude photos and five explicit videos to himself.
The young woman immediately returned to the store and took back her unrepaired cell phone.
She confronted Petrushansky, who initially denied everything but later claimed he accidentally forwarded the images to himself.
The shop owner then allegedly tried to work things out, offering the victim US$500 (AUD760AUD) to keep the incident a secret and promising to fire the worker.
However, the victim decided to report the case to the Cleveland Police Department, which opened an investigation.
“These were photos she took of herself and sent to her ex-boyfriend,” Detective John Shaver said in a statement.
“She immediately came to the Cleveland Police Department to file a complaint, then went home and started digging herself.
“She was able to find out that the phone number was registered to Jonathan Petrushansky, the store’s technician.”
The story goes on
Det Shaver went to his house and learned that he was the shopkeeper’s brother.
He spoke to him briefly and was able to find out that Petrushansky – who was supposed to be fired – was back working at the store.
He was arrested and charged with invasive visual recording but was released after posting $20,000 (AUD$30,400) bail.
Detectives are investigating the store for other possible similar incidents.
– Newsflash/Australscope
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