Kevin James Strutz, a 52-year-old California man, was sentenced to over three years in federal prison last week after he was found guilty of secretly filming a guest in his mother's Airbnb property and subsequently attempting to blackmail her.
Strutz threatened to share explicit footage of the woman with her family and friends unless she sent him a sexually explicit video of herself, according to prosecutors.
The woman, a traveling occupational therapist, had rented a room in Strutz's mother's house in Ceres, California, in February 2020. She abruptly left the property the same month after discovering a disturbing drafted message on a smartphone in a shared bathroom.
The message read, "This girl, (VICTIM 1) is driving me crazy. Shes accidentally sexy. I dont think thats what she wants here. I never get what I want and it frustrates me" as per the criminal complaint.
Following the incident, Airbnb provided the woman with a hotel room for the night and assisted her in relocating to another property. However, Strutz's harassment did not end there.
He continued to contact her through multiple Facebook accounts, including one under a false identity. He threatened to send explicit images of her to all her contacts unless she complied with his demands.
In an interview with the FBI, Strutz admitted to filming the woman using a cell phone hidden in a basket. He was arrested in June 2020 and pleaded guilty to two counts of cyberstalking in May this year.
Airbnb condemned Strutz's actions in a statement reported by CBS Bay Area, stating, "We have no tolerance for the reported behavior and worked quickly to support the survivor once she brought it to our attention, including banning the associated host accounts from our platform at the time."
During the investigation in 2020, authorities discovered that Strutz had sent a series of threatening messages to another woman in September 2018, attempting to coerce her into engaging in sexual acts with him.
This victim was included in Strutz's recent guilty plea and sentencing, according to the US Attorneys Office.
Strutz has a criminal history dating back to 1991, with charges including stalking, violating court orders to prevent domestic violence, burglary, robbery, and assault with a deadly weapon, federal authorities said.
His sentencing on November 27 marks the end of a disturbing chapter for the victims of his cyberstalking campaign.
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