Business Police & Fire
Police arrest Flint Audio Video owners in nude pic investigation
July 6, 2018 July 6, 2018 Sandy McGee	1 Comment
MIDDLETOWN, R.I. — State Police arrested the owners of Flint Audio Video on Friday in connection with an investigation into accessing and distributing nude photos found on customers' cellphones and computers, according to The Associated Press.
Gary Gagne, 58, and Daniel Anton, 35, both of Jamestown, were arrested and charged with soliciting others to commit the crime of accessing a computer for fraudulent purposes and conspiracy, reports The Associated Press. After a court appearance, both were released on $30,000 bail.
In June, State Police arrested and charged the Flint Audio & Video store manager, George Quintal, 34, of 774 Jepson Lane, Middletown, for allegedly accessing and sharing nude images found on customer's cell phones and computers.
He was charged with accessing a computer for fraudulent purposes (three counts) and computer trespass (three counts). State Police arrested and charged three other Flint Audio Video employees in connection with the investigation before the owners' arrest, according to The Newport Daily News.
In June, Flint Audio Video owners released the following statement to Portsmouth Press after the arrest of Store Manager Quintal.
"We are shocked and outraged to learn of the arrest of George Quintal and because of the severity of the charges against him, we have fired him effective immediately. As an audio, visual and computer retailer in Rhode Island for more than 30 years, there is nothing we take more seriously than the privacy and safety of our customers. We are entrusted with their most valuable information, moments and memories, and we work diligently to provide the highest level of security.
"We understand the gravity of this situation and we are working to prevent this activity from ever happening again. We will assist the Rhode Island State Police in any manner possible to help identify any customers who may have been affected," wrote Anton and Gagne, owners of Flint Audio Video.
In June, members of the State Police Computer Crimes Unit and Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force conducted a search warrant at Mr. Quintal's home, where they seized electronic storage devices containing approximately 2,000 images collected over the past several years.
Rhode Island State Police have identified several of the alleged victims found in these photos, but they are still working to identify others.
Any customers of Flint Audio Video, located at 77 East Main Road, Middletown, who are concerned that their photographs and other electronic files may have been compromised should contact Detective Adam Houston at 401-921-8152.
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