Penn State football involved in sexual extortion probe as photo evidence from inside locker room unsealed
Two student-athletes allege they are the victims of a sexual extortion attempt
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A federal investigation involving the Penn State football program and sexual extortion is underway, and the details are disturbing.
According to Penn Live, videos of a group sex act and photos from inside the Penn State football locker room of players undressed have been unsealed.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Detail view of a player carrying a Penn State Nittany Lions football helmet in the rain before the game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers on November 18, 2017 at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania. (Brett Carlsen/Getty Images)
The university previously sought to keep the warrants with the evidence sealed, but they were unsealed in a Centre County court show on Friday. There are a reported 19 videos in total taken from inside the locker room.
Campus police became aware of the case on Sept. 26, 2021. Two student-athletes alleged that they were victims of sexual extortion after being convinced to share sexually explicit photos with a woman. One of the athletes alleges that the woman, who he met on a dating app, threatened to share the images on social media and with head football coach James Franklin.
According to the report, the woman did respond to one of Franklin’s tweets in September with a link to a sexually explicit video. Victim 2 of the warrant said that after he blocked her, she began posting the content directly to Instagram.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}FILE - This file photo from Oct. 26, 2019 shows Penn State coach James Franklin as he watches the team warm before an NCAA college football game against Michigan State, in East Lansing, Mich. (AP Photo/Al Goldis, File)
The warrants reveal that one of the Instagram accounts the woman used had a folder that included 33 videos and one image. The warrants also allege that this isn’t this woman’s first attempt at extorting and exposing student-athletes, she’s tried to do the same with high school and college athletes from a number of other states as well.
Why Was The Penn State Investigation Closed?
Centre County District Attorney Bernie Cantorna stated that the investigation was closed last month and no charges were filed "partially due to the victims no longer wanting to pursue the matter."
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"The University’s concern was focused on potential student victims and their right to privacy in the case, and that possible irreparable and irreversible damage that the immediate unsealing could impose," Penn State spokeswoman Lisa Powers said. "There was never any intent to permanently seal the warrants, only to redact the names of victims."