Sex-extortion sentence 5 years
Man guilty in threat to post photos of woman online
FAYETTEVILLE — A man who threatened to post explicit photographs of a woman online was convicted in Washington County Circuit Court on Wednesday of felony sexual extortion.
Roger Craig Harp, 62, was sentenced to five years in prison and a fine of $5,000. Harp faced up to 20 years. He was acquitted of a misdemeanor charge of witness tampering.
“He threatened to post sexually explicit photos of the woman on Facebook and Instagram with the intent to harm her reputation, get her fired from her job and basically shame her, humiliate her, turn friends and family against her,” said Denis Dean, deputy prosecutor.
Dean said this was the first time Washington County prosecutors have used the sexual extortion charge, and it may be the first case to go to trial in Arkansas under the 2017 law.
The victim provided Fayetteville police with digital copies of messages from Harp threatening to release sexually explicit photographs. Harp told her he had 33 explicit images and was going to continue to post them until she either quit her job or was fired.
The text messages began Jan. 12, 2021, and continued for at least 24 hours nonstop, according to the victim’s testimony.
Harp later got the woman fired from her job with an insurance company by telling her employer that she was disclosing confidential information about clients and other employees, according to prosecutors.
The sexual extortion came to light Feb. 14, 2021, after police responded to the woman’s house for suspicious activity. Officers reported they arrived and discovered the primary water line leading to the sink in the master bathroom had been cut and water was coming from the pipe, flooding the house. There was standing water in the master bedroom and master bathroom.
The damage was determined to be more than $5,000, Dean said.
The woman identified Harp as being at the house through security camera footage, Dean said. He wasn’t supposed to be there because of an order of protection she had in place. She then told police about the threats to post explicit photos.
Harp still faces charges of felony residential burglary and criminal mischief and a misdemeanor charge of violating an order of protection. A trial date had not been set in that case as of Wednesday, but a status hearing is set for Aug. 9.