California man facing 4 years after posting nude photos of ex-girlfriend
A 52-year-old man in Ventura County could be spending nearly four years in prison after a jury convicted him of stalking, extorting and distributing intimate nude photos of his ex-girlfriend, authorities announced Thursday.
Jason Anthony Arnold, a resident of Simi Valley, and his former girlfriend broke up in 2019, at which point prosecutors say the 52-year-old launched a terrifying campaign of threats and harassment that lasted from November of that year to March 2020.
After demanding more than $50,000 from the victim, Arnold posted the nude photographs around her workplace and at the apartment complex of her new boyfriend when he failed to receive the money.
“A sex advertisement accompanied the photos, along with the victim’s home address, business address and personal cellphone number,” officials with the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office said in a news release.
Arnold also sent the photographs directly to the victim’s mother, brother and new boyfriend.
Despite a domestic violence restraining order granted to the victim, prosecutors say the 52-year-old continued the relentless harassment with text messages and emails.
“The victim was subjected to the defendant’s obsessive and vindictive stalking behavior for far too long,” prosecuting Deputy District Attorney Tessa McCarty, a member of VCDA’s Domestic Violence Unit, said. “It is my hope that these convictions provide her with the closure she deserves.”
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Arnold was convicted on one felony count of stalking, a felony count of extortion by threatening letter and three misdemeanor counts of distributing private, intimate photos.
The 52-year-old, who is currently in custody at the Ventura County Jail is due to appear at a sentencing hearing on April 25.
He faces a maximum prison sentence of 3 years and 8 months.
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