From August 2020 to June 2023, 21-year-old serial cyberstalker Hugo Iram Cardona Jr. of Odessa, Texas “sextorted” at least 15 victims in Texas, Colorado, and Arizona. According to the United States Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Texas, he contacted his victims using multiple Instagram accounts, Snapchat accounts, and disposable TextNow phone numbers.

Cardona’s Crimes

Court documents state that Cardona gained access to young females’ Snapchat accounts using a two-factor authentication scheme. Armed with their intimate content, which he was never meant to see, he then contacted his victims demanding an apology and threatening to circulate their private materials. He allegedly used the same threat to pressure his victims into video chatting with him while performing explicit acts.

Cardona cyberstalked so many young women that the FBI created a designated email address for correspondence relating to his crimes. The agency urged victims to come forward, and a website containing a purpose-designed questionnaire remains active.

In one conversation with a victim in El Paso, Cardona stated that he had hacked the victim, called her a “dumbass,” and asked her what she’d give him in exchange for his willingness to stop and leave her alone.

In a message to another victim’s boyfriend, Cardona stated: “tell (M.M.) to answer me. if not im gonna show her parents everything and get both of you in so much trouble and ruin her modeling career. only you can save her.” He also contacted a victim’s mother and threatened to publicly expose her daughter’s images.

The Investigation

Investigators linked Cardona to the Instagram, Snapchat, and TextNow accounts that were used to harass the victims. While searching his electronic devices devices, federal agents discovered that some of the victims had accommodated his demands for explicit content.

Cardona reportedly admitted to harassing, threatening, and cyberstalking multiple females ranging in age from 16 to 21 years. According to a criminal complaint, he admitted that he knew his actions were illegal and could result in child pornography charges.

In true incel fashion, Cardona blamed his despicable actions on being friendless and unpopular. The criminal complaint states that he “admitted he became angry and began to harass others.”

Guilty Plea and Sentence

Prosecutors originally charged Cardona with cyberstalking, threats utilizing interstate communications and receipt of material involving the sexual exploitation of minors. He was later indicted on five counts of cyberstalking, five counts of interstate communications with intent to extort, and one count of material involving the sexual exploitation of minors.

In April 2024, Cardona pleaded guilty to three federal counts of cyberstalking. In exchange for his plea, the remainder of the charges were dropped. Each charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years, which meant that he faced up to 30 years in prison. In October, the judge sentenced him to three concurrent five-year sentences.

So, in addition to dropping the interstate threat and exploitation of minors charges, Cardona is serving one-sixth of the amount of prison time he could have been sentenced to.

My opinion: while I understand that the plea-out system is a reality, Cardona should have been held accountable to the fullest extent of the law. It’s disturbing and shameful that he wasn’t.

Apparently (this is not fact, but mere speculation), Cardona thought it was okay to take his inferiority complex and grossly inflated sense of entitlement out on innocent young females. I’m guessing he perceived the victims as being out of his league or unwilling to give “guys like him” the time of day. Based on the information available, it seems (in my opinion) like he thought his victims owed him for his social ineptitude which, in reality, wasn’t their fault or their problem.

I’m glad Cardona is locked up, and I’m thankful to those who worked to put him behind bars. But five years does not seem like nearly enough when weighed against the severity of his crimes. Some of Cardona’s victims were underage, and I do not support leniency toward anyone who harms children. Whether or not he’ll reoffend remains to be seen, but I won’t be even slightly shocked if history repeats itself.