45°
Ian Pisarchuk was arrested the night of June 8, following a search of his Skyline Drive home on June 8, Bucks County DA Matthew Weintraub and Bensalem police said at a press conference Wednesday.
The investigation began when police got a complaint from an alleged victim saying she had gotten messages from an unknown individual on SnapChat, Weintraub said.
Authorities later found that Pisarchuk used the "quick adds" feature on SnapChat to add his victims, and then "obtained nude photos and sexual videos by means of extortion, and threatened to harm them if they didn’t comply with his demands," the DA said.
"If you see 35 mutual friends, you’re more likely to let them -- in and that’s what this ‘person’ did," Weintraub said.
Pisarchuk had three known victims -- the youngest 12 years old, and the oldest 19, the DA's office said. There were believed to be another three -- if not more, Weintraub said.
Pisarchuk is believed to have done the same to Lindsey Piccone, whose body was found in a state park on Nov. 1, 2016. Her death was later ruled a suicide.
Before her death, Piccone was harassed, threatened and extorted by an apparent stranger on SnapChat, whose account was linked to Kutztown University, the Weintraub said.
Detectives at the time found too many IP addresses to narrow down the investigation, and no real suspect.
"The investigation went cold and stale, but that remained open until yesterday, when they learned [Pisarchuk] attended Kutztown on a football scholarship from 2014 to 2018, while Piccone was harassed," Weintraub said.
Bensalem police charged Pisarchuk with multiple felonies and arraigned him Tuesday night. He was being held on $2 million bail.
This is a developing story. Check back for more.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Bristol and receive free news updates.
