Court Docs: WSU Student threatened to rape, kill women who wouldn’t send nude photos

Court Docs: WSU Student threatened to...

Kyle Simchuk by Kyle Simchuk

A WSU student accused of extorting nude photos from dozens of women also worked as a resident advisor, supervising students at a WSU dorm.

Kyle Gaumnitz, 24, is charged with 5 counts of felony extortion with sexual motivation in Whitman County Superior Court.

The case began in the Fall of 2017 when two WSU students told campus police that an unknown man was extorting them over Snapchat and Tinder, a popular dating site.

The women told police they sent intimate photos of themselves to Gaumnitz, who threatened to share them to friends and family if the women refused to send more.

“We occasionally see cases once in awhile where you’ll have one victim and an unknown suspect. To have somebody do this — I mean predator like this going out there actively searching for folks is uncommon,” said WSU Asst. Police Chief Hansen.

The original two victims told police that Gaumnitz used the names “Nathan Giles” and “Jake Johnson.” Investigators filed search warrants with several internet service providers and learned the accounts belonged to Gaumnitz.

WSU Police raided his home in February 2018 and collected his computers and other digital devices which revealed about 50 additional alleged victims from as far away as California.

Police interviewed a total of 27 women who shared similar accounts of Gaumnitz threatening to release nude photos. Some of the women said they had never sent any. Many of the women were friends and co-workers of Guamnitz.

Hanson says these cases serve as a prime example of why people need to be careful of who they talk to online, and what they share. Hanson said if anyone finds themselves in a similar situation, they should report the harassment to police immediately.

“We will do our best to investigate it to the end as we’ve shown. Just realize that these investigations will not be done over night,” Hanson said.

Gaumnitz is charged with 5 counts of felony extortion with sexual motivation. WSU Police say more charges are possible.

The 24-year-old is also a suspect in a similar investigation involving 12 female ROTC Air Force cadets. Guamnitz was a member of the same unit.

Guamnitz worked as a resident assistant at Waller Hall, an all male dorm in 2013. He’s expected to appear in Whitman County Superior Court near the end of March.

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