Miss Teen USA Cassidy Wolf's Webcam Hacked; Student Arrested for 'Sextortion'
Miss Teen USA, Cassidy Wolf, was the victim of a "sextortion" scandal at the hands of another teenager, Jared James Abrahams. Wolf was one of many women whose webcams were hacked by Abrams, who then contacted them demanding more nude photos and Skype conversations. He was arrested in connection with the crime Thursday after admitting his crime in June.
Miss Teen USA Cassidy Wolf, who won her title Aug. 9, actually knew Abrahams from Great Oak High School in Temecula, Calif. She and other young women were victimized by Abrams, who figured out how to access their computers and turn on webcams while the girls undressed. After Abrahams ordered threatened Wolf for more nudes- "your dream of being a model will be transformed into a pornstar," he said- she contacted authorities.
Law enforcement agencies had been pursuing Abrahams since March, as he originally masked his identity over the internet. However, he surrendered to the FBI Thursday, admitting to forcing several women to strip, send lewd pictures, or log on to a live Skype chat session with him. Abrahams had taken over up to 150 electronic devices, according to the criminal complaint.
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Abrahams went to court for the extortion charges, which could result in a sentence of up to two years. His parents signed bond agreements for $50,000, then he was released "on intensive pretrial supervision and home detention with electronic monitoring," FBI spokeswoman Lourdes Arocho told CNN.
Wolf was far from the only victim Abrahams terrorized. One exchange with a teenager in Ireland could strengthen the case against the 19-year-old hacker.
"Please remember I'm 17. Have a heart," she wrote to him.
"I'll tell you this right now! I do NOT have a heart! However, I do stick to my deals. Also age doesn't mean a thing to me!!!" Abrahams responded. He then forced her to strip for him via Skype.
After sessions or pictures were sent to him, the teen would pretend to delete the evidence of his victims. Authorities found the videos and pictures on his phone after his arrest.
Abrahams' lawyer Alan Eisner says his client feels "profound regret and remorse" for what he has done now, pointing out that he volunteered to speak with FBI after they exercised a search warrant at his home.
"The family wants to apologize for the consequences of his behavior to the families who were affected," Eisner told KTLA, adding that Abrahams is autistic.
Wolf said she will use her fame as Miss Teen USA to combat cyberstalking.
