INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A Maryland man who pleaded guilty to charges he extorted an Indiana teen and girls across the country into sexual favors online has been sentenced to 33 years in federal prison.
The U.S. attorney’s office in Indianapolis says 21-year-old Trevor J. Shea of Mechanicsburg, Md., pleaded guilty Friday in federal court to seven counts of production of child pornography.
Prosecutors say Shea admitted he blackmailed 10 girls between the ages of 13 and 16 into producing masochistic sexually explicit images and videos of themselves.
The case is an example of a growing crime that federal prosecutors call “sextortion,” in which Internet predators catch victims in embarrassing situations online and threaten to expose them unless they create sexually explicit photos or videos for them.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
