Authorities have launched an investigation into sexual extortion allegations that include lewd vidoes shot within the Penn State football locker room, warrants released Friday revealed.
A report by WJAC Johnstown says that the warrants reveal Penn State police to have gotten photos and videos, 19 of which were from within the locker room.
The Centre Daily Times reported that Penn State had wanted to keep the warrants under wraps because the University felt that, if they came unsealed, it would “result in great personal embarrassment and insult.”
The work of Centre County District Attorney Bernie Cantorna, the Centre Daily Times, and other news outlets helped lead to their unsealing.
Cantorna confirmed that this is now a federal investigation.
According to the police station, university law enforcement first knew of the case Sept. 26, 2021.
The report said that the whole thing started with an alleged sexual extortion of two Penn State athletes, identified in the warrants as Victim 1 and Victim 2.
Victim 2 is said to have told police that, while on a dating app, he met someone who he thought was a woman named “Li.”
According to the police report, the woman “likes doing things to athletes” and wanted to “expose him,” meaning Victim 2
According to Victim 2, Li convinced him to send her “sexually explicit photos of himself,” and then threatened to expose those photos via social media unless he sent more of them. he met a person he believed to be a woman, who was referred to as “Li,” on a dating app earlier that month. Victim 2 said that Li convinced him to share “sexually explicit photos of himself” with her, and then threatened to post those on social media platforms — including Penn State head coach James Franklin’s Twitter account — unless he sent more.
One of the woman’s threats involved sharing the photos to Penn State football coach James Franklin’s Twitter account, and the Center Daily Times reported that she replied to a Franklin tweet with a sexually inappropriate video link.
Additionally, Victim 2 told police he doesn’t think he’s alone in being vicitimzed, and said Li added him to a Snapchat group with other athletes, who she told to “give him advice.”
WCAJ reported that the athletes responded by telling him to “do what she said. That it would be bad.” other student-athletes at the school were victims of Li because she added him to a Snapchat group that included other athletes and told them to “give him advice.” Victim 2 said those athletes told him to “do what she said. That it would be bad.”
At this point, Victim 2 felt handcuffed and told poliece, he shared the videos recorded in Penn State’s locker room that showed Penn State athletes in multiple That is when Victim 2 told police he shared the videos of a group sex act and other videos recorded from within Penn State’s locker room that showed the athletes in various stages of undress.
Following more demands, Victim 2 said he blocked the woman later in the month. After this, he said, is when she started posting the graphic content to Instagram.
Victim 2 told police he told the Penn State athletic department about the problem, and the department began to help him delete the posts.
According to the warrant, one of the Instagram accounts variations featured a dropbox folder that featured 33 videos and one picture.
WJAC reported that Cantorna’s office ended the investigation last month didn’t file charges “partially due to the victims no longer wanting to pursue the matter.”
The person behind the account, according to the warrents, is also trying to extort other high school and college athletes from across the country.
Penn State spokesperson Lisa Powers told the Center Daily times that Penn State is concerned about possible victims, their rights to privacy and what “possible irreparable and irreversible damage in the immediate unsealing could impose.
“There was never any intent to permanently seal the warrants,” Powers said, “only to redact the names of victims.”
