VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – A man has been charged with attempted extortion in Virginia Beach after a mom contacted police with Facebook messages.
Court records say on February 19, a woman was contacted on Facebook by a man who did construction work at her house. The records state that he allegedly told the woman that he has beautiful paintings and videos that she needed to see and requested to meet her in person.
Records state that the alleged message read, “I have some video art I think you would like to keep to yourself from when we we're all… close," later going on to say, “As a mom, I thought you might want them.”
The woman met with the man, who allegedly told her that the pictures and videos he had of her daughter would be out there for all the world to see unless she gave him money.
She allegedly left without paying, and he allegedly sent her a video of her daughter in underwear.
It is unclear the daughter’s exact age, but she likely in her late teens. Police were working to determine how old she was when the videos were taken.
The documents say the woman and man continued to message all day and that he allegedly apologized for what he had done, promising to delete everything.
Related: FBI partners with Hampton Roads schools to find victims of sextortion
Records state she contacted the police and showed them the Facebook messages.
On March 2, Christopher Michels was arrested for attempted extortion. His next court hearing is scheduled for May 5 in Virginia Beach.
