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A younger lady helped catch an alleged thief who’s accused of making an attempt to blackmail her with a nude photograph of herself after her backpack was stolen at an airport close to Washington, D.C.
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Contained in the backpack was the girl’s pc, she stated, which contained the nude image.
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“Crucial factor, although, was my laptop computer, which I’d had for 10 years,” the girl, who requested to solely be recognized as Jane, advised NBC affiliate WRC.
Jane, who’s from Virginia however lives elsewhere, was flying by means of Dulles Worldwide Airport when the theft occurred.
When reporting it to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA), she was advised figuring out a suspect could be tough because of the tens of 1000’s of individuals travelling each day by means of the airport.
Nevertheless, a police report stated a suspect was caught on surveillance video and was recognized as an worker of Smarte Carte, an organization that gives self-serve baggage carts for passengers.
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In a twist, WRC’s investigative reporters revealed that the worker wasn’t taken into custody instantly as police determined to permit the suspect to proceed working on the job for greater than a month.
“They couldn’t arrest him but as a result of they wanted extra in an effort to get a search warrant to get my pc again,” Jane stated.
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Then one morning, Jane woke as much as a textual content message from an nameless Instagram account with a nude photograph of herself.
Jane stated she knew the place the photograph got here from, explaining it was for an artwork mission that she had but to share publicly or privately.
She contacted investigators about this new piece of proof and was advised to answer to the individual if she felt snug.
“I actually didn’t wish to, however I needed to get my pc again,” she stated.
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She requested what he needed, and he replied, “Extra of your pictures,” and later requested for cash.
“He requested me for $3,000,” Jane stated. “I believe he simply noticed a chance to try to blackmail me. I used to be very upset.”
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She determined to take issues into her personal arms and, utilizing a web-based device, managed to trace down the pc’s IP deal with and even the GPS coordinates of the suspect.
She despatched the data to police, who continued their investigation. They ultimately obtained a search warrant and arrested a suspect. Her pc was recovered, but it surely was cleaned of her information.
Jane stated she sued the suspect in small claims court docket, they usually ultimately settled the case.
“My motivation was by no means to ship somebody to jail,” she stated. “It was to get some type of justice for what I misplaced.”
WRC reported the accused confronted quite a few prices, together with menace to extort cash, however he pleaded responsible to a lesser cost of petite larceny and acquired probation. The airport authority suspended his safety badge, and he was terminated by Smarte Carte.
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