LOS ANGELES — A 23-year-old Sylmar man accused of using Instagram to advertise sexually explicit photographs of local girls that he offered to sell over the internet pleaded guilty Tuesday to a federal charge.
Alejandro Garcia Aranda entered his plea in downtown Los Angeles to one count of distribution of child pornography, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Aranda faces between five and 20 years behind bars at a Feb. 18 sentencing hearing, prosecutors said.
According to the indictment, in April and May of 2020, Aranda used the Instagram handle “valleyhoezzz818” with the self-proclaimed goal of targeting local girls who attended schools in the San Fernando Valley.
Prosecutors said Aranda received payments from customers who wanted to obtain sexually explicit content of the victims that he had advertised and offered to sell on Instagram.
When victims discovered that sexually explicit materials depicting them were being advertised and disseminated by Aranda and requested that he stop and remove them, Aranda attempted to extract additional sexually explicit material from them, including by threatening to post further photographs, the indictment states.
Aranda was charged in Los Angeles federal court with one count of advertisement of child pornography, one count of distribution of child pornography and one count transmitting threatening communications with intent to extort.