Massage therapist charged with sex crimes charged with impersonating former news director

By JEREMY FINLEY

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    NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) — The former massage therapist accused of sex crimes against multiple women is now charged with impersonating the former news director of News4.

The additional charges of identity theft and criminal impersonation come after News4 Investigates exposed how someone posed as Mitch Jacob, the former news director at WSMV, and tried to get photos of Tarek Mentouri off the station’s website.

Mentouri faces 17 criminal charges including rape, sexual assault, and kidnapping following a series of investigations by News4.

In the midst of our reporting, someone calling themselves “Mitch” called and emailed the company that manages News4’s website.

In the recordings, “Mitch” can be heard asking that pictures of Mentouri be taken down.

In an email also sent to the web company, someone using a Gmail account for a “Mitch Jacobs” also requested the photos be removed.

Jacob, the former news director, does not spell his last name with a “s.”

And in the recording, “Mitch” wrongly identifies the call letters for WSMV. “It’s Mitch again from WUSMV. We had spoken about editing a thumbnail. I just had one final request for a second article to help with,” the impersonator said in voice mail.

At the time, Jacob wrote an email in response to the questions from the web company.

“I never called someone to replace an image,” Jacob wrote.

In the voice messages, “Mitch” also gave a call back number that was the same phone number for Mentouri.

In an email to News4, Jacob, now the news director at ABC15 in Phoenix, wrote, “I’m glad to see the justice system is taking this seriously and looking forward to seeing a resolution in the case.”

Mentouri’s attorney, Chase Rudd, did not respond to our call for comment today.

A spokesman for the district attorney’s office said the new charges do not impact Mentouri’s ability to leave jail next month.

The additional charges mean he will have more to pay, but his attorney indicated in court Wednesday that they had the $50,000 required for Mentouri to bond out.

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