Dorian Graham, a 19-year-old student at Ohio University (OU), is facing felony charges related to a sex exploitation scam he ran using Snapchat.
According to 10tv, Graham pretended to be a woman when he flirted with a fellow male student on the popular photo messaging smartphone app. The pair escalated from "flirting" to exchanging naked photos. When Graham received the victim's photos, he would use them as blackmail in exchange for sex.
Prosecutors said Graham played two roles in the blackmail scam. One was the role of the woman, to get the victim to send naked photos in exchange for what that student believed to be "hers." The other was himself, the male student who the "woman" told the victim to have sex with in exchange for keeping his naked photos private.
"'She' began to flirt with him, and got to the point in which they sent naked pictures to each other over Snapchat," Athens County Prosecutor Keller Blackburn told 10tv.
"The 'female' then alleges that unless he engages in sexual conduct with a third party male, that she's going to leave it up and add all of his friends to this post," said Blackburn. "So she extorts him to engage in sexual conduct with a male, in order to take these photos down."
When Graham met the other male student, he claimed to be blackmailed by the same woman. Those sex acts were also recorded, reportedly, to continue blackmailing the victim.
Court records say the one sex act was recorded at Adam's Hall on OU's campus and the demands continued after. Graham allegedly told the victim to look on Instagram, where his naked photos and videos were posted. The victim then allegedly begged for the images to be taken down.
After a back-and-forth, Graham told the victim more images would be going online soon. At that time, the victim alerted the OU police.
According to the Columbus Dispatch, Graham was indicted Nov. 25 on four felony charges of sexual battery, attempted sexual battery, extortion and attempted extortion. He is awaiting trial, tentatively set for Feb. 25, after pleading not guilty. He was set free on recognizance, but with a $10,000 bond guarantee.
