Phoenix man gets prison for extorting nude photos from girls

Jarre Edward Bjelic

A Phoenix man accused of threatening nearly a dozen young Tempe girls in order to get nude photos of them has been sentenced to 4 1/2 years in prison.

Maricopa County prosecutors say 25-year-old Jarre Edward Bjelic was sentenced Thursday after pleading guilty to three counts of theft by extortion and one count of attempted fraud schemes.

Bjelic was arrested in 2015 and pleaded not guilty to dozens of felony counts.

Tempe police say Bjelic used social media websites to meet girls and claimed to have a modeling agency.

Police say Bjelic persuaded victims to send him nude photos of themselves, believing they were being looked at as potential models.

When teens sent Bjelic photos, he would threaten to use those photos against them if they didn't send more pictures.