An Arizona man has been jailed for three months for creating a fake profile on a pornographic website to get back at an elementary school assistant principal he thought had confiscated his son's iPod, The Arizona Republic reports.
Robert Esparza, 34, of Gilbert, was sentenced last week for computer fraud and identity theft.
Frank Hendricsen, 30, assistant principal at Gateway Pointe Elementary School, denied taking the iPod from Esparza's 13-year-old son, said Dennis Ogorchock, a detective with the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office computer crimes unit.
Authorities say Esparza, convinced that Hendricsen had taken the device, set up a profile under the assistant principal's name on an adult website, posted lewd body photos supposedly of Hendricsen and attached more than 20 pornographic videos, the newspaper says.
Esparza used photos from the school website, including one of Hendricsen's wife, and also chatted online while pretending to be the school official, according to authorities.
The apparent goal was to create such an online porn presence that Hendricsen's name would come up during any search by a prospective employer.
"I'm sure this guy (Esparza) felt that it was funny, thought it was a joke," Ogorchock says. "He definitely could have damaged this guy's (Hendricsen's) reputation and his job prospects."
In fact, the newspaper reports, a school official says the ruse was uncovered after Hendricsen applied for a position at another school district and a parent, searching the Web, found the porn site with Hendricsen's fake profile.
Police found Esparza through his IP address, which was linked to his work laptop, the newspaper reports.