Berkeley

Berkeley Man Arrested After Allegedly Hacking Into Teenage Girls' Social Media Accounts

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Police arrest a Berkeley High School graduate after he allegedly hacked into several social media accounts that belonged to teenage girls.

Investigators are calling these cases “revenge porn," as the suspect obtained private pictures and information of his victims.

Now, investigators are wondering if there were more victims involved in these cases.

Officials with the Berkeley Police Department said Liam Burgmann, 19, was arrested Monday near his home following a three-month long investigation.

Mug shot of suspect Liam Burgmann, 19, (Courtesy: Berkeley Police Department)

“A number of students at Berkeley High School had their social media accounts hacked,” said Berkeley police spokesman Bryon White. “These were personal intimate photographs of teenagers."

White added that Bergmann targeted 17 girls in Marin, Contra Costa and Alameda counties. Nine of the victims were fellow Berkeley High School students.

After posting the photos to social media sites, police said Bergmann would then allegedly contact the teens and would try to extort them.

“In some cases, he wanted to get money from the victims," White said.

Berkeley police and the FBI found Bergmann with having personal information of more than 100 people.

David Cohen, Bergmann’s attorney told NBC Bay Area Thursday that the public should not rush to judgement in this case.

“I’ve seen it before to these types of stories. These types of flashbang type of reactions ruining a person’s life before we have a chance to step back and see what actually happened," he said.

Bergmann’s bail is set at $220,000.

Anyone with any information regarding the cases or believe that they may have been a victim, they are urged to contact Berkeley police’s youth service detail at (510) 981-5715.

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