A Washington State University student is being accused of trying to extort nude photos from dozens of women. 24-year-old Kyle Gaumnitz has been charged with 5 counts of felony extortion with sexual motivation in Whitman County Superior Court.

The case began in the Fall of 2017 when 2 WSU students told campus police that an unknown individual was extorting them. The suspect contacted the women through social media. The alleged victims sent the suspect intimate photos of themselves. The suspect then allegedly threatened the women with violence or promised to distribute the images unless they sent more.

WSU Police tracked down one of the suspect’s social media accounts to Gaumnitz. In February of last year officers raided his home in Pullman and seized his computers and digital devices. WSU Police say the devices revealed about 50 additional alleged victims from as far away as California. Court documents specifically identify 27 women that were allegedly targeted by Gaumnitz. In many cases Gaumnitz had previously dated the women, worked with them or were classmates.

Court documents say Gaumnitz was identified as a person of interest in a similar Pullman Police Department investigation. The case was highly publicized 2 years ago when 35 female tenants of the Grove apartment complex stated that they were being extorted for nude images. Gaumnitz was working at the Grove Apartments at the time.

The probable cause certificate shows that WSU Police consider Gaumnitz as a suspect in a separate similar investigation involving 12 female Air Force ROTC Cadets. He was a member of the unit. That case is being reviewed by the Whitman County Prosecutor’s Office.

The Richland Police Department considers Gaumnitz as a suspect in another similar investigation involving one of his high school classmates.

The alleged extortion cases took place between the Summer of 2013 and January of last year. In most instances the female targets never provided Gaumnitz with images. In a few cases the women complied with his alleged demands. In one instance Gaumnitz allegedly threatened to go to a women’s house and kill her if she didn’t send him more images.

Gaumnitz is scheduled to make his first court appearance later this month in Whitman County Superior Court in Colfax.