MN podcaster pleads guilty to sharing nude photo without consent
YouTuber Aaron Imholte pleaded guilty in court last week.
Imholte was accused of sharing a nude photo of a woman without her consent to a guest on his online show.
He is not expected to face time behind bars after the plea.
ST. CLOUD, Minn. (FOX 9) - A Minnesota-based podcaster and YouTube personality has pleaded guilty to sharing a nude photo of a woman without her consent.
What we know
In Stearns County court on Thursday, St. Cloud podcaster Aaron Imholte, 38, entered a guilty plea to a misdemeanor count of nonconsensual dissemination of private sexual images. As part of the agreement, a felony count was dismissed.
Imholte was charged with the crime back in August – just days after he pleaded guilty and was sentenced in another case where he was accused of violating a harassment restraining order in Sherburne County.
Imholte was set to face trial next month in the photo case. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
READ MORE: MN podcast host Aaron Imholte arrested after livestreaming crime: Charges
The backstory
Imholte hosts the Steel Toe Morning Show on YouTube. His channel has about 13,000 subscribers on YouTube and another 4,000 on Rumble.
In May, while hosting his show, Imholte allegedly sent a nude image of the woman to a guest on the show. The charges state the two men discussed the nude photo on-air, which allegedly showed the victim topless.
The situation is connected to a relationship Imholte and his ex-wife had with fellow Minnesota YouTuber Nick Rekieta and his wife. That relationship disintegrated, leading to Imholte regularly commenting on Rekietas on his show and making what prosecutors called "concerning" and harassing remarks.
What they're saying
Imholte addressed the guilty plea on his show on Friday, telling his audience he made a bad decision when he was in a bad place mentally.
"In May, I sent that picture [to the guest]," Imholte explained. "I sent it to [the guest] because I was a [expletive] dumb guy in a [bad] place. When I said, 'Boy didn't do too bad, did he?'… That was a guy who was looking for a little validation from a friend. I cannot urge you against something like that more."
Imholte also complemented prosecutors, saying he felt they treated him professionally and fairly through the legal process.
What's next
Under the plea agreement, Imholte is not slated to face time behind bars.
In the previous harassment case, Imholte was placed on probation. It's unclear if the recent conviction will impact his probation.
Speaking on his show, Imholte indicated that he was told if he stayed out of further trouble, he would be fine.
The Source
This story used information from court documents filed in Stearns County, past FOX 9 reporting and statements made on Imholte's YouTube channel.
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