COOLIDGE, AZ — Officials say a Coolidge man has been arrested for sexual extortion of two Australian teen girls.
The Pinal County Sheriff’s Office says 18-year-old Kai Ranaglia-Nelson used nude photos of a 13-year-old and 14-year-old girl from Australia as blackmail to get the girls to continue to send him more photos.
PCSO says Australian authorities were first to investigate the case after the two girls came forward.
After inappropriate photos were exchanged with the suspect, Ranaglia-Nelson said he would “expose” the nude photos if the girls didn’t send him additional pictures.
Ranaglia-Nelson did allegedly release one photo of one of the victims after she stopped sending photos to him.
PCSO was contacted by Australian authorities, and Ranaglia-Nelson was located and arrested in Coolidge.
“This is an important reminder to monitor your children’s social media account and know who they are talking to,” said Sheriff Mark Lamb. "It is so important to talk to your children tonight about the dangers of sharing inappropriate photos with anyone. We see cases all the time where those victims get extorted for the photos they send. This type of crime happens not just locally, but internationally.”
Ranaglia-Nelson has been charged with two counts of sexual extortion.
