Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Thursday, April 25, 2024 72° Today's Paper


Top News

Kauai man who lured sex-assault victims via Facebook gets 10 years

1/1
Swipe or click to see more

A Kauai man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for sexual assaults and extortion in a case involving luring hopeful models through social media.

Twenty-nine-year-old Leonard Alpeche Jr. was sentenced Wednesday for eight counts of third-degree sexual assault and six counts of second-degree extortion involving a woman and a minor.

He pleaded guilty in a plea deal in May.

Prosecutor Jake Delaplane says he used a Facebook account to assume the identity of a 15-year-old girl in the community. He then lured girls and women as a mutual friend of a photographer offering lucrative modeling contracts.

Delaplane says victims sent him bikini and semi-nude photos. He then threatened to expose the photos and extorted sex or money from them.

The Garden Island reports he apologized in court.

Comments are closed.