Man blackmailed ex-girlfriend with nude pictures, police say

LYNNWOOD — A Lynnwood man threatened to expose his ex-girlfriend on the Internet unless she paid her share of the rent, even though he’d kicked her out.

Pay up, the man said, or he’d post photos of the woman wearing her lingerie — and less.

On Monday, Lynnwood police arrested the man on suspicion of second-degree extortion.

“You can’t threaten somebody like that. It’s against the law,” said Shannon Sessions, a Lynnwood police spokeswoman.

The man, 20, wanted the ex- girlfriend to pay her portion, or $2,200, of the outstanding rent due on the apartment they had shared, according to documents filed Tuesday in Everett District Court.

Police listened to a voice mail message the man allegedly left his girlfriend Sunday saying he would post the photos on the Internet if she didn’t pay. He repeatedly threatened to mess with the woman’s life, the documents said.

The woman told police the threats made her “terrified and scared” and she began to cry, the documents said. She told police she “would be horrified if people saw those photos.”

The couple broke up July 5. For the past year, the woman, 19, had been sharing the apartment in the 18400 block of 36th Avenue W., the documents said.

She asked the boyfriend to sign an agreement releasing her from the money owed on the remaining four months of their lease. He allegedly refused and ordered her to move out but still pay her share of the rent, or else.

About a year ago, the woman agreed to let her boyfriend photograph her nude or scantly clad. The photos apparently were stored on his computer.

Police are investigating if the photos exist, Sessions said.

“We’ve come across these types of threats before,” although rarely because they aren’t often reported to authorities, Sessions said.

The man was jailed Monday. A judge Tuesday ordered him released on his own recognizance. Snohomish County prosecutors will determine if charges should be filed.

Reporter Jackson Holtz: 425-339-3437 or jholtz@heraldnet.com