VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – An Orange City police officer was arrested on a warrant after Georgia authorities said he attempted to extort nude photos from a woman on social media, threatening to kill and rape her family if she did not comply.
Joshua David Fancher, 25, was arrested Tuesday at his home in DeLand on a warrant charging him with making terroristic threats, according to officials with the Volusia County Sheriff's Office.
Detectives in Lowndes County, Georgia, said Fancher first started messaging the victim on Instagram, demanding she send him nude photos. Fancher threatened to kill her, kill her 5-year-old brother and rape her sister if she didn't send him the photos, according to Lowndes County authorities.
The threatening messages continued for five months, according to the arrest warrant.
Volusia County Sheriff's Office detectives searched Fancher's apartment on a warrant out of Georgia to assist with the ongoing investigation.
Fancher was called in from patrol Tuesday morning and arrested, Orange City Police Department spokesperson Lt. Jason Sampsell said. The department had no prior knowledge of his arrest.
Fancher resigned from his position with the Orange City Police Department immediately.
City Council of Orange City meeting notes show Fancher was hired with the department in October 2017. Photos posted to the Orange City Police Department Facebook page show Fancher at his swearing-in ceremony in December.
Fancher began working for the city as a civilian before joining the police force, Sampsell said, and had no previous criminal history while with the city.
The Orange City Police Department will conduct its own investigation into Fancher.
Fancher was booked into the Volusia County Branch Jail and is held without bail.