Apple Valley Man Charged With Multiple Sex Crimes

APPLE VALLEY, MN — An Apple Valley man is accused of hiding a camera in a woman's closet and posting revenge porn, according to a criminal complaint filed in Minnesota's 4th Judicial District Court.

The man was charged with nonconsensual dissemination of private sexual images and interfering with privacy, according to the complaint.

If found guilty of these charges, John Patrick Leitner could face up to four years in prison and/or a fine of up to $8,000, according to the complaint.

The St. Paul Pioneer Press reported that Leitner was also charged Friday in Dakota County District Court with eight counts of possessing child pornography.

Leitner was accused in April of harassing a woman in Apple Valley and filming her without her consent, officials said.

Leitner sent the woman and her friends and family emails, according to officials. The woman also believes that he signed her email into pornographic sites so she would get emails from them, officials said.

One email referenced in the criminal complaint that officials say Leitner sent read:

"got every minute of the wonderful footage. hours of it. you'll be a star soon. it's getting posted in the worst of the worst places first. the deepest darkest corners. I want the worst kinds of people seeing it first. with every single bit of your info attached to it."

The woman called police again April 9 because she got emails that threatened to send sexual images of her to her brother and ex-boyfriend, officials said. Sexual images of the woman were sent to her ex-boyfriend, officials said.

The woman showed police emails both she and her friend's husband received, which included sexual images of her and links to pornographic sites, officials said.

The woman has a harassment restraining order against Leitner, which wasn't granted until late June, officials said.

When police went to Leitner's home, he denied posting images of the woman and recording their sexual encounters, saying his phone must have been hacked, officials said. Police found a computer with multiple videos of the woman, including videos of her changing taken from a hidden camera in her closet, officials said.

Also on the computer were 437 videos and images of child pornography, officials said.