According to the Charlottesville, Virginia police, a former local television meteorologist, weather man Joshua aka Josh Fitzpatrick was charged with s*xual extortion and was taken into custody on a fugitive warrant in Ohio on April 22
The Albemarle County Police Department issued a news statement stating that Joshua Fitzpatrick, 42, is facing charges of unlawfully recording a person’s s*x tape without their permission and felony s*xual extortion. Police added that Fitzpatrick was charged after a victim claimed that Fitzpatrick had extorted them, claiming to leak their s*x tape.
Who is Joshua aka Josh Fitzpatrick as ex-29 News (WVIR-TV) Charlottesville, VA weather man is arrested for s*x tape video threat
Fitzpatrick had relocated to Ohio, according to the Albemarle police investigation that followed the victim’s complaint. In early March 2025, Fitzpatrick quit his job as a meteorologist, according to 29News, his previous employer.
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) – Former WVIR-TV meteorologist Josh Fitzpatrick is facing criminal charges after being arrested Tuesday in Ohio on a fugitive warrant.
Court records from Gallia County Ohio indicate Fitzpatrick was due in court for an extradition hearing this morning.… pic.twitter.com/tfNMIzhW23
— Qᴀɢɢ.ɴᴇᴡꜱ (@qaggnews) April 23, 2025
“With the assistance of Ohio law enforcement, Fitzpatrick was arrested on Tuesday, April 22, 2025. He is currently being held in Ohio awaiting extradition to Virginia,” police said.
Fitzpatrick was supposed to show up for his extradition hearing this week, but he was unable to do so for medical reasons, according to Ohio’s online records.
Albemarle police stated in the same press statement that they think Fitzpatrick’s alleged crime may have included other victims. They requested that anybody who has had an “encounter with Fitzpatrick” call detectives at 434-296-5807 in the Criminal Investigations Division of the Albemarle County Police Department.
Following that investigation, on April 9, 2025, ACPD obtained warrants for 42-year-old Joshua W. Fitzpatrick of Charlottesville, Va., for the following:
-§18.2-59.1 felony sexual extortion
-§18.2-386.1 unlawful creation of image of another pic.twitter.com/NX8ZVO5Nl8— Albemarle County Police Department (@ACPD_VA) April 23, 2025
For more than 20 years, age 42 weatherman Josh Fitzpatrick, a well-known local meteorologist, worked on television. He began his career as the head meteorologist at WOAY-TV and WSAZ-TV in West Virginia. He began working at 29 News (WVIR-TV) in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017, and he stayed there for over ten years before quitting a few weeks prior to his arrest.
Fitzpatrick is a meteorologist who has won awards, according to his Facebook profile.
Fitzpatrick has shared beautiful weather images and forecasts on social media during his career. He posted a picture of a Point Pleasant, West Virginia, sunset the day he was detained. The Sun claims that his Instagram feed is dominated with landscape photos, clouds, and weather maps.
In June 2024, he reflected on his lengthy career in a Facebook post. He wrote, “It’s been an overall great 20 years. I’ve seen a lot of changes. Worked with great and talented people. I’m doing what I’ve wanted since the fourth grade.”
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