UH student arrested after alleged catfishing scheme, leaking intimate video

HOUSTON - An 18-year-old University of Houston student is facing felony charges after investigators say he spent months catfishing a peer online, obtaining explicit media, and leaking it to the victim’s friends.

A relationship under false pretenses

According to detectives, 18-year-old suspect Tyler Burrel created a fake Snapchat profile posing as a woman. Using the fraudulent persona, Burrel targeted an 18-year-old male victim, building an online relationship with him over a six-month period.

Investigators revealed a disturbing twist in the case: the suspect and the victim were not strangers—they apparently knew each other from high school. Unaware that he was being catfished by someone from his past, the victim sent an intimate video of himself to the profile.

The situation escalated when Burrel allegedly leaked the explicit footage directly to the victim's group of friends. Upon discovering the leak and the deception, the victim reported the incident to authorities.

"Online, anybody can be anyone," said Carlos Sandoval, the lead detective on this case with Harris County Precinct 5. "We need people to really think twice before they send something that they'll later regret. But, you know, between agencies, we share information and we're able to track suspects down."

Digital footprint leads investigators to campus arrest

The Harris County Constable Precinct 5 High Tech Crimes Unit spearheaded the investigation. Cyber-investigators successfully traced the suspect's digital footprint directly to the University of Houston campus, where Burrel was subsequently taken into custody.

Burrel was booked on a state jail felony charge of unlawful disclosure of intimate visual material. Court records indicate that he has since posted a $20,000 bond, is currently out of custody, and is scheduled to appear in a Harris County courtroom on November 10.

The trauma of digital betrayal

Beyond the legal ramifications, experts emphasize the severe emotional toll that catfishing and non-consensual image sharing inflict on victims. The betrayal hits on two distinct levels: the sudden realization that a trusted online connection was entirely fabricated, combined with the public humiliation of having private media exposed to peers.

"Any of these types of acts are going to impact us regardless of what age we are, but it's going to affect certainly immediate things like anxiety and depression," said Dr. Jeff Temple, a psychologist, professor, and Associate Dean of Research at the UTHealth School of Behavioral Health Sciences.

Dig deeper:

Dr. Temple noted that victims often become so worried about being deceived that they may pull away from connecting with others altogether—avoiding dating, distrusting new acquaintances, and constantly second-guessing themselves.

"That can make an already painful experience like this catfishing episode all the more isolating, because now we're scared to reach out to other people and talk about it," Dr. Temple explained. "You're going to see things like withdrawal, constant vigilance, self-doubt, and fear of more exposure. They're going to feel relationships as a threat, and I think the message to them is slow down, verify, stay connected to trusted people, but don't give up on connection."

Investigators suspect additional victims

Authorities warn that the scope of the case may extend beyond a single incident. While auditing Burrel's Snapchat account during the investigation, detectives discovered explicit videos featuring several other men.

What's next:

Law enforcement officials state they have strong reason to believe these findings point to additional victims who may have been targeted through similar catfishing tactics. Harris County Precinct 5 is encouraging anyone who believes they may have been affected to come forward.