Kittery Man Sentenced in 'Cyber Sextortion' Case

A Kittery, ME man was sentenced to nearly three years in prison Thursday on cyber stalking charges.

John Bryan Villegas, 23 was sentenced in federal court in New Hampshire to serve 33 months in prison for engaging in a type of cyber stalking known as “sextortion,” according to Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney John P. Kacavas of the District of New Hampshire.

On Sept. 18, 2013, Villegas pleaded guilty to one count of engaging in cyber stalking. He allegedly attempted to extort a New Hampshire woman into providing him with sexually explicit photographs and videos of her. He sent her e-mail messages in which he threatened to publish on the internet – and distribute to the victim’s neighbors and work and social acquaintances – other sexually explicit photographs of the victim that were stored on her laptop computer, which had been recently stolen during a burglary of her residence. On Jan. 9, Villegas pleaded guilty in New Hampshire state court to charges that he committed that burglary.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service and prosecuted by Senior Trial Attorney Mona Sedky of the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section in the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Arnold H. Huftalen of the District of New Hampshire. Dover and Kittery, ME police and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service also participated in the investigation.