A Seattle computer tech accused of stealing nude photos of a customer and publishing them on a “revenge porn” website now faces felony charges.
King County prosecutors claim Jeremy Scott Walters raided the woman’s computer and then posted nude photos of her on a misogynistic website aimed at men hoping to shame ex-lovers. Walters, 30, has been charged with computer trespass – a crime better known as hacking – and cyberstalking.
Unlike most men who post photos on “revenge porn” sites, Walters never had a relationship with the woman he’s accused of embarrassing. Writing the court, Senior Deputy Prosecutor Gary Ernsdorff surmised Walters simply saw a chance to hurt someone.
“The defendant did not gain financially, nor (were) his actions fueled by a relationship gone wrong,” Ernsdorff said in charging papers. “It appears the defendant was simply being exceedingly cruel to an unknowing client, motivated only by a desire to hurt another person.”
The woman hired “Silo” Walters in June 2011 to transfer the contents of her personal computer to a new machine. Among the items to be transferred was a collection of nude photos taken by a friend earlier in the year, as well as a host of personal photos.
Having found Walters on Craigslist, the woman paid him $60 to make the transfer. The procedure took less than 10 minutes, and the two parted ways, she believed, for good.
More than two years had passed when, in December, the woman received a creepy phone call to her home from a blocked number. The caller told her that she should “play along” or he would publish naked photos of her; she hung up.
A minute later, the woman got a second call and another threat from the blocked number, a Seattle Police Department detective told the court. That time, though, the caller threatened to rape her. She hung up again, and received a third call, prompting her to call 911.
While waiting for police to arrive, she discovered photos of her had been posted on a pornographic website carrying photos purportedly submitted by women’s jilted romantic partners.
Such “revenge porn” sites have drawn law enforcement attention recently. One operator – Munter Moore, widely described as the most-hated man on the Internet – is currently facing federal charges related to a since-shuttered site he operated.
The woman found that 24 nude photos of herself had been posted on one such site.
According to charging papers, Walters posted the photos as well as a message in which he derided the woman as a “slut” and falsely claimed to have had sex with her after showing up at her home to work on her computer.
Having spoken to police the day she received the threatening phone calls, the woman received two more calls the following day, the detective told the court. She recorded one of the calls, the detective continued, during which the caller threatened to “gang rape” her.
Police believe other men, apparently those who viewed the woman’s photos online, decided to harass and threaten her using the information Walters provided.
Writing the court, the detective said Walters sent links to the photos to the woman’s family and friends in the days after the harassment began.
Police were able to determine the timeframe during which the photos were stolen, and rule out malicious software as a source for the theft. The detective then tracked down Walters online, where he apparently engaged in some truth in advertising.
“Jeremy Walters advertises himself on the Internet as a web designer, photographer, graphic designer, podcaster, artist and an ‘asshole,’” the detective said in charging papers. The woman subsequently identified Walters as the man she’d paid to transfer her files.
On June 26, police served a search warrant on Walters’ home in Seattle’s North College Park neighborhood. Questioned then, Walters is alleged to have admitted posting the woman’s photos online.
Walters “stated he would make it easy for us and stated, ‘I did it’ and that he was angry at her,” the detective said.
Walters is alleged to have then directed officers to a hard drive where the photos were stored. Police found the woman’s photos there.
Writing the court, the detective said the entire episode has been “very traumatic” for the woman.
She “has lost friendships with friends and family members as well as exposed a very private part of her life,” the detective told the court. She “fears for her safety and wellbeing.”
Charged Friday in the matter, Walters has not been jailed. He has not yet entered a plea.
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