ARLINGTON — In 2011, a relative inspected the teen’s cellphone.
There he found nude photos that she had taken of herself.
He did not scold her.
Instead, he said it was okay, so long as she texted them to him as well.
For the next five years, the teen sent him photos for his silence, according to an Arlington police investigation.
The victim is an adult now, but was a minor at the time, city spokeswoman Kristin Banfield said.
The young woman recalled in court papers that she was “afraid of him, and afraid of him telling my mom that I was sending pictures.”
She wrote that the relative told her that he wanted the nude pictures so that he could “protect her and be aware of child pornography.”
Today, as a young adult, she believes the man blackmailed her for five years by holding the pictures over her head. She described him as “smart, calculating and controlling” and said he would “guilt trip” her into sending the photos.
Arlington police investigated the allegations. On Tuesday, they arrested the Arlington man, 52, for investigation of sexual exploitation of a minor and commercial sex abuse of a minor. They allege that he convinced two teens to send him photos.
Detectives reported finding 75 nude photographs of the Arlington girl, when she was between the ages of 14 and 17, on a memory card on the suspect’s cellphone.
He allegedly would prod her, reportedly saying things like he was depressed and wanted her to send him something to cheer him up.
She also alleged that he would pay her money to play video games while naked or watch TV while they both were nude.
When police interviewed him, the suspect allegedly admitted that he requested the photos when the girl was underage.
Another woman told police that when she was 17, the suspect paid her to flash him and would play a game with her where she would have to remove clothing. She also alleged that she sent him a nude selfie “because of the pressure” he put on her.
Reporter Rikki King contributed to this story.
Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446; stevick@heraldnet.com.
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