Cellphone repair shop employee arrested for invasion of privacy

A Jefferson City man faces charges of taking and sharing explicit photos of several women.

A woman told Jefferson City police on June 11 that sexually explicit photos of her were shared with a group of people without her consent.

The victim had recently taken her cellphone to iRepair, a cellphone repair shop in Jefferson City, for a routine repair. She said she learned that the photos being shared had been stored on her cell phone.

The iRepair in Columbia is not affiliated with the store in Jefferson City.

Detectives contacted an employee at iRepair in Jefferson City who they believe took the photos. The employee’s cellphone was seized, and detectives found a number of other pictures of women – in addition to the initial victim. One of those victims was 16 years old at the time the picture was taken, investigators said.

The man revealed the identities of some of the women to detectives, but they are still working to identify approximately 15 victims, authorities said.

The employee, a 32-year-old man from Jefferson City, was arrested and faces charges of first-degree invasion of privacy and possession of child pornography.

The case is being reviewed by Cole County Prosecutor Mark Richardson, but charges have not yet been filed.

The Jefferson City Police Department is asking anyone who used iRepair services from late 2014 through this month to contact detectives at 573-634-6400.