DAVIE, FLA. (WSVN) - A Davie Police officer accused of threatening to share nude and inappropriate photos of a fellow officer he had dated has been found guilty of extortion.
James Joseph Krey, 37, was convicted on one charge of extortion by threat against his former girlfriend, Brittany Assam.
Nearly three years ago, Krey was arrested and charged for threatening to send nude photos of Assam to co-workers unless she quit her job and left the county.
The pair dated for about a year and a half before the relationship came to an end.
Assam took the stand as the prosecution’s first and primary witness, Wednesday.
“‘You’re gonna have to leave Broward, sweetheart. Anywhere you go, I have people.'” Assam said as she read the text messages allegedly sent by Krey.
“I was gonna have to leave the county if I wanted to work anywhere. I had to quit, or he was gonna start sending those pictures to everybody,” she said.
When asked if she wanted to quit, Assam responded, “No.”
“‘Jimmy, please don’t destroy me. I will leave the department,'” she read.
Krey’s defense argued that he acted out of emotion.
“What he did was ungentlemanly, and you shouldn’t like it, but there’s no crime in saying we’re breaking up, I’m angry at you, I’m gonna show my friends those pictures of you. That’s not extortion,” said defense attorney Jeremy Kroll.
In closing arguments, the defense argued that it was just a lover’s quarrel.
The prosecution argued that those texts were criminal in nature.
“Yes, the day before — ‘I love you,’ ‘I love you, too.’ Twenty hours later, this is the ordeal she’s going through from the man that she loved. That is the definition of malicious,” said the prosecutor.
Just after 5 p.m., the jury returned their verdict on the one charge of extortion.
Krey’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for Feb. 28. He could face up to 15 years in prison, according to the prosecution.
Krey was suspended without pay. Assam is currently still on the force.
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