Phone tech sees explicit video on woman’s phone, sends it to himself, Florida cops say
A repairman working on a Florida woman’s iPhone found an “explicit video” among her files and made a copy for himself, according to the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office.
He was arrested Monday, Dec. 19, after the woman discovered a mysterious outgoing text on her phone, with the video attached, the sheriff’s office said in a news release.
Investigators say the video was copied after she dropped off the phone at an I-Fix store in Port Charlotte, where a technician spent two hours making repairs. Port Charlotte is about 100 miles south of Tampa.
“During that time, the individual browsed her personal files and discovered an explicit video of the victim saved to the device. That individual then texted the file to his own personal phone,” officials said.
“The following day, the victim discovered the sent message and found that the video had been also deleted from her device. This led her to contact the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office to make a report.”
Detectives traced the mysterious text to a 28-year-old I-Fix employee, officials said.
The employee let investigators search his phone, where the video was found “in a hidden folder” alongside “several others of the same type,” officials said.
“The file information of the video revealed that it had been saved to his phone on the same day that the victim took her phone in for repair, and during the time frame in which she had left it at the business,” the sheriff’s office said.
“Investigators (verified) that the file had been sent to (his) phone number from the victim’s phone number on the day and time during which the victim’s device was in for repair.”
The suspect, who lives in North Port, has been charged with accessing a computer or electronic device without authority, officials said. He was released on $5,000 bond, records show.
“When we engage the service of a company, we have an expectation of trust that the job will be done and our privacy protected,” Charlotte County Sheriff Bill Prummell said in the release.
“I encourage everyone to be cautious with your personal files on your electronic devices, because once they get out, there is no telling how far they can go.”
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