San Fernando Valley man accused of online sexual extortion pleads guilty

A 23-year-old man is accused an online sextortion program in the San Fernando Valley is awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to distributing explicit images of minors, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California confirmed Tuesday.

Sylmar resident Alejandro Garcia Aranda was arrested in July on a three-count federal indictment for promoting and distributing more than 600 images and videos containing child pornography through his Instagram handle “valleyhoezzz818,” created around May 2020.

Authorities said he used the images to shame girls and blackmail high school victims by threatening to post more compromising content if they didn't send more photos.

According to the plea agreement, Aranda admitted to selling the paintings. Investigators found that Aranda received payments through Cash App, PayPal, Venmo and Zelle from online customers who purchased the explicit content. According to court documents, Aranda sent paying customers via Instagram direct message a ZIP file stored at MEGA, a file hosting service based in New Zealand, that contained explicit sexual material.

He admitted knowing that the content involved “minors engaging in sexually explicit behavior.” Some of the content featured victims under the age of 12 who were depicted in a “sadistic or masochistic” environment.

Aranda's trial is scheduled for February 18, 2025, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office confirmed. He faces five to 20 years in federal prison.