Google Employee Facing Cyber-Stalking Charges After Trying To Blackmail Woman Over Nude Photos
MOUNTAIN VIEW (CBS) -- A Google employee faces federal cyber-stalking charges and was banned from using the Internet after he posed as a researcher and tried to blackmail a woman over her nude "research" photos.
FBI agents say Nicholas Rotundo, an internal technology resident at Google, emailed a female college student in Texas claiming to be a researcher conducting a study of women's anatomy.
According to The Smoking Gun, 23-year-old Rotundo told the woman he was doing a "breast perception study," a research project that "involved the public's perception of different breast types." Candidates were "required to submit nude photographs of their breasts in order to be considered for participation in the study."
The young woman reportedly sent him nude photos for $8500. Investigators say Rotundo then tried to use the pictures to blackmail her.
Pretending to be someone who "stumbled across some pictures" of her breasts, Rotundo reportedly emailed the woman and demanded she send him sexually explicit nude photos of other parts of her body and a one-minute video of her masturbating.
The student contacted campus police who in turn, contacted the FBI.
He faces a maximum of eleven years in prison. He posted a $4,500 bond, but isn't allowed to use the Internet.