Alice police arrested Aaron Garcia, owner of vitamin supplement shop Get-A-Grip, following a five-month investigation into allegations he exploited women using social media. Garcia was booked into the Jim Wells County jail on Sept. 30, and charged with unlawful disclosure of promotion of intimate visual material.
The investigation began when Alice resident Valerie Puyol learned through a friend that provocative photos of her were posted on Discord, a platform for digital communities to share similar interests like gaming.
"At first, I was shocked. I didn't think there was stuff like that out there," Puyol said.
Puyol has been working with the police for months after discovering the images online.
"I saw myself on there, you know, it was devastating at first and I was upset. But when I saw how, like, how much was on there, the extent of it all, that's when I realized that 'okay, this is really big,'" Puyol said.
She said she has been approached by other victims in the Alice community and felt compelled to take action.
"I felt like I needed to stand up for some people that I knew would not want to say anything or not do anything," Puyol said.
Investigators executed two search warrants after Garcia's arrest. Alice Police Chief Eden Garcia said multiple parents and victims have come forward, making the investigation extensive.
"We have so many parents and victims coming forward. It's going to take us some time to review, to go through all these cases," Chief Garcia said.
The police chief warned the community about the long-term consequences of sharing private content.
"How many cases are pending? We don't know. We're just scratching the surface of this investigation right now. No telling how much more is out there," Chief Garcia said.
Lt. Enrique Saenz, a veteran officer with the Alice Police Department, said too many people trust others with personal images without understanding the legal implications.
"So, even if they send it to you and you think it's yours, you can do whatever you want with it. It's against the law to post on (photos on) any kind of social media or anywhere like that," Saenz said.
He said police have been working closely with Discord, which has taken down the Alice server. Police Chief Eden Garcia urges anyone who believes they might be a victim of Garcia to contact their local police.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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