New York man accused of cyberstalking college students


Savader sent text messages using Google Voice numbers to 15 women.

A New York man was charged Tuesday in federal court in Detroit with cyberstalking 15 women, telling them he had nude photos of them and threatening to distribute them to their friends and family unless they sent them more naked pictures of themselves.

According to an affidavit filed in U.S. District Court, the defendant, Adam P. Savader, 21, sent anonymous text messages using Google Voice numbers to 15 women in Detroit; Washington, D.C.; and Long Island, N.Y. Savader sent some of the victims links to a photo-sharing website where nude pictures of the victims had been posted, the affidavit said.

The FBI learned about the case from Ann Arbor, Mich., police detectives, who had received a complaint last September from a university student stating that she had received threatening messages from a person who had illegally obtained nude photographs of her from her email account.

The affidavit did not say which university she attended. According to the affidavit, the student had taken six nude photos of herself using an iPhone, uploaded them to her AOL account and intended to send them to her now ex-boyfriend in England.

But she never sent the photos and she never shared them with anyone, nor did she ever give anyone authority to access her AOL account, the affidavit stated. About a month later, the woman noticed that every time she logged into her AOL account, she was prompted to respond to a security question and had to change her password.

Three months later, she received a text message from someone claiming to be “John Smith” and threatening that he had nude photos of her and that “he would send the nude photos … to her parents and friends if she did not send him additional photos.” Smith knew the names of her parents and displayed a Facebook picture of her mother to prove he knew her family, the affidavit said.

The woman said she felt “frightened and terrorized” by his comments and went to the police. She provided Ann Arbor detectives with three of her photographs, including one that showed her sitting naked in a bubble bath, the affidavit said. She “pledged her full cooperation and said that if the person was identified, she would like for him to be prosecuted.”

An electronic paper trail led authorities to Savader in Great Neck, N.Y. — the same hometown for the college student he allegedly was stalking in Ann Arbor. Ann Arbor detectives partnered with FBI agents and discovered that several college women were being stalked, including a college student who was told nude pictures of her would be sent to the Republican National Committee, her parents and her sorority if she did not send more nude pictures of herself.

Savader is in federal custody in New York awaiting extradition to Michigan. He is charged with Internet extortion and cyberstalking in a criminal complaint, although trial cannot be held unless an indictment is handed up.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s office, when the investigation is completed, a determination will be made on whether to seek an indictment. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison.

(c)2013 Detroit Free Press Visit the Detroit Free Press at www.freep.com Distributed by MCT Information Services

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