SANTAQUIN — A Santaquin man was charged Monday with contacting teenage girls on social media, convincing them to send explicit pictures and then — in at least one case — threatening to publicly release the pictures.

Nicholas Santiago Gonzales, 20, is charged in 4th District Court with sexual extortion, a first-degree felony, and four counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, a second-degree felony.

The investigation began Nov. 6 when a 17-year-old girl told her school resource officer about “some exploitation and threats she had been experiencing over the social media platform Snapchat,” according to charging documents.

The girl explained that after meeting Gonzales online, their conversations became sexual and she sent him photographs and videos of herself, the charges state.

Gonzales

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