Tampa man accused of revenge porn, sex with a minor, pleads guilty to lesser charges

A Tampa man charged with extortion, revenge porn, sexual battery of a minor, and sexual battery of an animal pleaded guilty after years of legal wrangling, but he surprised the court Tuesday by thanking the judge.

Rudolfo Palermo's legal saga began nearly two years ago after prosecutors say he forced two young women to have sex with him and other men. If they didn’t, he threatened to post videos of them during previous sexual encounters.

Last February, one victim told a Tampa judge, "I didn't consent to him recording me."

The last time Palermo was in court in December, he was asking for bond and claiming to have been a hero while in jail.

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"I even saved someone’s life that was choking within the jail," Palermo said. "Someone was choking. I gave them the Heimlich maneuver."

Now Palermo will be a convicted sex offender. He's pleading guilty to lesser counts of extortion, cyberstalking, and lewd and lascivious activity with a minor.

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In return, he will spend three years in prison.

Palermo did have some kind things to say to the judge.

"I just want to say thank you to you for the way that you’ve handled everything throughout the course of this. You made me feel like I was going to get a fair trial, if I had gone to trial. You protected my constitutional rights," explained Palermo.

Rudolpho Palermo during previous online hearing

Then he was fingerprinted and escorted out of the courtroom, without addressing his victims.

In addition to h three-year prison sentence, Palermo will also serve 12 years of sex offender probation.