Man Receives 105 Years in Prison for Sextortion

Anyone who sends nude images or uses web cameras to send racy videos of themselves could possibly be haunted later by the fear of these images or videos being revealed to the public damaging their professional or personal lives. The latest trend, according to prosecutors, involves a new term called “sextortion,” which has been defined as using explicit pictures or videos to extort more pornographic images.

Police and prosecutors have said that they are seeing more and more cases where people contact teens who send text or e-mail messages with nude photos of themselves and then threaten to expose these images to others unless the teens send more pornography.

Prosecutors believe sextortion was used in a recent Florida case where a 31-year-old man was sentenced to 105 years in prison after pleading guilty to using online threats to extort pornographic images from children.

This prison sentence was imposed last week by a Jacksonville federal judge. The 31-year-old pleaded guilty in August to nine counts of producing child pornography.

Prosecutors claim the man made connections with hundreds of girls in 26 states on the Internet by pretending to be a friend or acquaintance. Once the man gained these girls’ trust, he would persuade them to expose themselves on a video chat and record it, according to investigators.

The man allegedly threatened to put the images online unless the girls provided more pornographic material. The victims were apparently between the ages of 13 and 18 years old. Authorities claim the man had about 80,000 pornographic images in his possession.

If you have been arrested or accused of committing a sex crime of any kind in Florida, a Florida Sex Crimes Defense Lawyer at Whittel & Melton can help. Sex crimes cases are prosecuted quite harshly in the state of Florida and it is extremely vital to the outcome of your case to retain legal representation as soon as possible. For a free case evaluation, please call us today at 866-608-5529 or contact us online.