San Fernando Valley man accused of online sexual extortion pleads guilty to distributing child pornography

A 23-year-old man accused of an online sextortion scheme in the San Fernando Valley awaits sentencing after pleading guilty to distributing explicit images of minors, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California confirmed Tuesday.

Sylmar resident Alejandro Garcia Aranda was arrested in July on a three-count federal indictment for advertising and distributing more than 600 images and videos containing child pornography through his Instagram handle, “valleyhoezzz818,” which was created around May 2020.

Authorities said he used the images to shame girls and extort high school victims by threatening to post more compromising content if they did not send more photos.

Aranda admitted to selling the images, according to the plea agreement. Investigators found that Aranda received payment via Cash App, PayPal, Venmo and Zelle from online customers who bought the explicit content. Aranda sent paying customers a zip file stored on MEGA, a file hosting service based in New Zealand, containing the explicit sexual material via Instagram direct message, according to court documents.

He admitted to knowing the content involved “minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.” Some of the content featured victims under the age of 12, who were depicted in a “sadistic or masochistic” setting.

Aranda’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for Feb. 18, 2025, a spokesperson from the U.S. Attorney’s Office confirmed. He could face five to 20 years in federal prison.