Puerto Rican Charged for Allegedly Hacking Young Girls’ Social Media to Steal, Sell Intimate Pictures

A Puerto Rico man has been charged with hacking random women’s social accounts to steal their intimate pictures and sell them online, the US Department of Justice has announced. If convicted he could face at least 20 years in prison.

On March 29, a grand jury in Puerto Rico charged Brian Luis Valentín-Ramos with possession, distribution and sale of child pornography, conspiring to illegally obtain information from strangers’ computers and cyberstalking, US Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico, W. Stephen Muldrow said.

The feds say that, since at least 2020, Valentín-Ramos conspired with others to hack the social media accounts of female victims in Puerto Rico to steal intimate pictures, then sell them online.

Using Twitter, Reddit and Telegram, Valentín-Ramos would allegedly pursue profits from the stolen photos, claiming “I sell my content because it was obtained via hacking making it exclusive.”

Some of the victims included girls at the University of Puerto Rico, adult victims – including some he allegedly cyberstalked – as well as minors.

“Valentín-Ramos also possessed, distributed, and sold sexually explicit photos of two female minors, including one who was fifteen years old,” according to the DOJ’s press release.

The defendant faces between 20 and 35 years in prison, depending on whether he’s convicted and how guilty the jury finds him.

The sale and distribution of child pornography carries a minimum of five years in prison and a maximum of 20. Cyberstalking is punishable with five years of imprisonment. Possession of child pornography carries a 10-year sentence.

Valentín-Ramos has been detained pending trial and was denied bail as he is considered a danger to the community.