Officials ask for help in county-wide cyber stalking, extortion case
RIVERSIDE COUNTY — Riverside County Sheriff’s officials are asking for help with a months-long cyber stalking and extortion case involving young women they say were stalked and extorted by an unknown suspect.
Since beginning their investigation last May, authorities have identified victims throughout Riverside County, and officials believe there may be more victims involved that have not yet come forward or been identified.
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According to Riverside Sheriff’s Sgt. Collazo, in each of the reported incidents the alleged suspect compromised the women’s social media accounts and began extorting them, demanding they send nude photographs of themselves.
Deputies assigned to Temecula Police Station began their cyber stalking and extortion investigation after a victim in the Temecula area reported that a person was stalking her and had been extorting nude photographs from her through social media.
“Subsequent to this incident, other young women have been identified as victims involving similar acts,” said Collazo. “In each incident, the suspect compromised social media accounts belonging to the young women and extorted nude photographs of them.”
Investigators have determined the suspect uses screen names with the word “territory” in them, such as “territorygod”, “iamterritory”, “territorywow”, and other variations with the word “territory”.
Anyone with information regarding this ongoing investigation, or who may have been a victim of a similar crime, is encouraged to immediately contact Investigator Cornett at the Temecula Police Department at (951) 696-3000 or Riverside County Sheriff’s Department Dispatch (951) 776-1099. All victims can remain anonymous and callers can refer to incident file number TE181240191. Citizens may also submit tips anonymously using the Sheriff’s CrimeTips online form.
Contact the writer: [email protected]
Trevor Montgomery, 47, moved last year to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes for several other news organizations; including Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News, The Valley Chronicle, and Anza Valley Outlook; as well as Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County and Mountain Echo in Shasta County.
Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)
During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations; including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, and Lake Elsinore Station; along with other locations.
Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.
Trevor has been married for more than 28 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 15 – but soon to be 16 – grandchildren.