A Jan. 26 preliminary hearing has been set for a Point Loma man who is accused of extortion, rape, and other offenses involving him posing as a modeling agent to naïve young women.
Maverick Mendez Rosales, 24, is also charged with human trafficking of a minor, oral copulation by threat, sexual battery, and digital penetration. He has pleaded not guilty to all counts. The victims knew him as “Michael.”
He is accused of extorting approximately $3,000 from a woman who paid the money to him after he threatened to make public her nude photos and videos he shot of her when she was younger, according to court records.
The woman felt threatened when she received strange text messages from someone whom Rosales described as his boss. Rosales was not a legitimate modeling agent, but had advertised as such on Craigslist, according to a San Diego Police detective.
Rosales used the same scheme with a second woman, and is alleged to have used Facebook to lure other victims. He met two victims at Starbucks stores in La Jolla and Chula Vista.
Rosales was arrested July 31. If he’s convicted, he could face up to 13 years in prison, according to the District Attorney’s office. He remains in the George Bailey Detention Facility on $300,000 bail.