Florida VA Worker Coerced 12-Year-Old Girl For Nude Pics: Report

ORLANDO, FL — A Veterans Affairs worker in Florida was charged Friday in connection with an elaborate scheme in which he used fake online identities to coerce a pre-teen girl into sending him nude photos that he later circulated to her classmates, according to an exclusive report in The Daily Beast.

Thomas Zayas, 45, of Orlando, has been accused of creating a bogus online persona under the name “Romeo” in the WhatsApp application and trying to groom the middle schooler into a sexual relationship, and when she spurned him, used another identity — that of a bogus sister "Millie" — to coerce her into sending nude photos in the summer of 2020, according to online court documents. The photos later made it to the girl's classmates and were discovered by a parent who notified school officials, the documents say.

Zayas later told investigators that he was "a pathetic loser" who had not had a date in six years, according to the criminal complaint.

His arrest was the product of a months -long investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, The Daily Beast reported.

To read more from The Daily Beast, click here.